The Value of Androgen Measures for Diagnosing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in an Unselected Population

The study evaluated the necessity of androgen measurements for diagnosing PCOS in a medically unbiased population of reproductive-aged women using the NIH 1990 criteria. It found that only 15.4% of women, specifically those with menstrual dysfunction, required androgen measurements, and among them, only one-quarter exhibited hyperandrogenemia. The findings suggest a strategy to reduce the need for androgen assays by initially categorizing women based on clinical presentation and then assessing androgens in those with menstrual dysfunction.