Clinician vs Self-Ratings of Hirsutism in Patients With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

    March 2016 in “ JAMA dermatology ”
    Lauri A. Pasch, Steven He, Heather G. Huddleston, Marcelle I. Cedars, Abram Beshay, Lee T. Zane, Kanade Shinkai
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    TLDR Patients with PCOS rate their hirsutism higher than clinicians, and these self-ratings are more closely related to their quality of life and risk of depression.
    The study involved 229 patients aged 14 to 52 years from a PCOS clinic who were assessed for hirsutism using the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) scoring system by both clinicians and themselves. The results showed a significant discrepancy between clinician and self-ratings, with patients rating their hirsutism higher (mean self-rated mFG score was 13.3) than clinicians (mean clinician-rated mFG score was 8.63, P < .001). Hirsutism negatively affected quality of life, as indicated by the Skindex-16 scores, with higher hirsutism scores correlating with a greater negative impact on quality of life. This association was stronger with self-ratings (r = 0.19-0.46) than clinician ratings (r = 0.14-0.32, P < .05 for all). Additionally, only self-ratings of hirsutism were significantly associated with depression risk (r = 0.14; P < .05). The study concluded that patient self-assessment is more closely linked to the psychological impact of hirsutism and should guide treatment decisions rather than clinician assessment.
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