Reanalyzing the modified Ferriman-Gallwey score: is there a simpler method for assessing the extent of hirsutism?

Abstract

Objective To determine whether assessing the extent of terminal hair growth in a subset of the traditional 9 areas included in the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) score can serve as a simpler predictor of total body hirsutism when compared to the full scoring system, and to determine if this new model can accurately distinguish hirsute from non-hirsute women. Design Cross-sectional analysis Setting Two tertiary care academic referral centers. Patients 1951 patients presenting for symptoms of androgen excess. Interventions History and physical examination, including mFG score. Main Outcome Measures Total body hirsutism. Results A regression model using all nine body areas indicated that the combination of upper abdomen, lower abdomen and chin was the best predictor of the total full mFG score. Using this subset of three body areas is accurate in distinguishing true hirsute from non-hirsute women when defining true hirsutism as mFG>7. Conclusion Scoring terminal hair growth only on the chin and abdomen can serve as a simple, yet reliable predictor of total body hirsutism when compared to full body scoring using the traditional mFG system.

Association of Fecundity With Changes in Adult Female Weight

“…We assessed hirsutism with the simplified version of the Ferriman-Gallwey score, which uses a scale of 0–3 to assess the amount of hair on a woman’s chin, upper abdomen, and lower abdomen. Women with a summed score ≥3 were considered has having hirsutism as a previous study determined this cutoff be highly predictive (12). …”

Health related quality of life among different PCOS phenotypes of infertile women

“…Progesterone levels were measured on the 21 st day of the cycle. Hirsutism was established by using the Ferriman-Gallwey score (≥7) (14). The BMI and hirsutism scores were assessed by a single investigator for all of the subjects.…”

A simplified questionnaire for self-assessment of hirsutism in population-based studies

“…Additionally, the results obtained using the instrument presented in this study proved better than those reported in other recent studies in which simplified tests have also been proposed. One of those studies tested only three areas (29), while another, which also evaluated three regions, used a cut-off point of R2 (8). As this latter study was conducted exclusively with Chinese patients, in whom the prevalence of hirsutism is extremely low compared with women in other countries, application of this instrument will probably be restricted to that population (8,15,18,30).…”