Quality of life of hirsute women

Abstract

Summary:Hirsutism is recognized to cause profound distress in affected women, due to cosmetic and psychosexual implications. It was evaluated in the present study by methods found to be valid and reliable in psychosomatic research. Fifty women with hirsutism belonging to the spectrum of disorders from idiopathic hirsutism to polycystic ovary syndrome, after complete medical work-up, underwent the same psychometric evaluation as 50 healthy non-hirsute women, matched for sociodemographic variables. Hirsute women had a Ferriman and Gallwey score ranging from 8 to 19. Psychometric evaluation for quality of life was carried out by the following methods: (a) Kellner's Brief Problem List, a 12 item self-rating list of psychosocial problems; (b) Kellner's Symptom Rating Test (SRT), a 46 item self-rating scale that yields a total score of distress as well as six subscales (anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, anger-hostility, cognitive and psychotic symptoms); and (c) Marks' Social Situations Questionnaire (SSQ), a 30 item self-rating scale concerned with social phobia. Patients with hirsutism displayed significantly higher social fears at the SSQ than controls (P< 0.01). They also showed more anxiety (P <0.01) and psychotic symptoms (P < 0.01) at the SRT, whereas there were no significant differences in depression, somatization, anger-hostility and cognitive symptoms. These results suggest that the complex management of hirsute women, in addition to pharmacological and/or cosmetic measures, may require specific psychotherapy.

Quality of life in 70 women with disorders of sex development

“…Higher SCL scores, i.e. more worse outcomes, are well in line with a previous study based on another questionnaire reflecting mental distress, the Symptom Rating List, in which females with idiopathic hirsutism and/or polycystic ovary syndrome displayed significantly higher levels of anxiety, as compared with a control group matched upon gender, age, marital status, and social class (14). The much better outcome in the CAIS females than in the CAH patients and the virilized women may suggest a clearer gender identity due to female gender assignment at birth, less diagnostic procedures, and a more straightforward treatment.…”

Psychological aspects of endocrine disease

“…Boswell et al (1997) affective disturbances, unlike Cushing's syndrome, hyperthyroidism and hyperprolactinaemia, quality of life appears to be compromised. Women with hirsutism belonging to the spectrum of disorders from idiopathic hirsutism to polycystic ovary syndrome reported significantly more social fears than a normal control group (Sonino et al, 1993c). In addition to pharmacological and/or cosmetic measures, a role for psychological approaches more specific than simple reassurance was therefore suggested.…”

Psychosocial approach of polycystic ovary syndrome

“…A tünet miatt gyakran férfi as jellemzőkkel írják le magukat és úgy tekintenek önmagukra, mint visszataszító lényekre [26,27]. Sonino és mtsai azt találták, hogy a fokozott szőrnövekedéssel küzdő nők erős szorongásról számolnak be a különböző szociális helyzetekkel kapcsolatban, például kapcsolatteremtés a munkatársakkal, idegenekkel vagy barátokkal való talál-kozás, vásárlás, szórakozás és alapvetően az emberek kö-zötti mozgás [28]. A feltűnő szőrnövekedés folyamatosan a fejükben van, és attól félnek, mások is észreveszik rajtuk a tüneteket (például, hogy borotválkoznak) [26,29].…”