Examination of the chin or lower abdomen only for the prediction of hirsutism

Objective: To test the hypothesis that scoring terminal hair growth on only the chin or abdomen can serve as a reliable predictor for hirsutism. Design: A prospective observational study. Patient(s): Six hundred and ninety-five consecutive hyperandrogenic women seen between June 1987 and December 1997. Main Outcome Measure(s): All hirsutism exams were performed by one examiner. Hirsutism was scored using a modification of the Ferriman-Gallwey (F-G) method. An F-G score of ≥8 defined hirsutism. Result(s): Of the 695 women examined 352 (50.1%) had hirsutism scores of 8. Thirty percent (79 of 344) of women who had an F-G score of 20% (e.g., family studies).