Modified ferriman gallwey scoring (mFG) in a group of healthy women living in adana

Objective: Hirsutism is the conversion of non-pigmented fine hairs into thick pigmented terminal hairs in androgen-dependent regions. The first step in the assessment of hirsutism is to determine the clinical scoring accurately. For this purpose mFG scoring system is used. However, racial and ethnic differences have a significant impact on hair growth. When women without hirsutism are evaluated considering race and ethnicity differences; unnecessary examinations, reduction of side effects of treatments and costs reveal the importance of accurate diagnosis. In our study, we aimed to determine the mFG score of healthy women living in Adana and to determine a cut-off value for use in Turkish society. Materials and Methods: 363 patients aged between 18 and 50 were included to study. Women with a history of disease and drug use that may cause hirsutism were excluded from the study. Anamnesis of all women was taken in detailed. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, waist / hip ratio) were taken and scores were determined according to mFG scoring system by one observer. Further investigations (hormone profile, pelvic usg, Synacten test, pituitary MRI) were performed to determine the etiology in women with mFG score ≥ 8. There were 59 people whose mFG score≥ 8 and the etiology of hirsutism can be detected . This group was called group A. And there were 42 people whose mFG score ≥8 , but there were no explainable cause related to hirsutizm . This group was called group B. The remaining 259 women with a score of <8 were called Group C. All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.0 statistical software package. The statistical level of significance for all tests was considered to be 0.05. Results: mFG scores were ≥ 8 in 104 out of 36.3 patients, and <8 in 259 patients . 46 patients had polycystic over syndrom( PCOS) (%44.2) , 8 patients had idiopathic hyperandrogenism (%7.7) and 1 patient had prolactinoma (%1) in group A . The mean mFG score of group A was 12.78 ± 4.4 (min-max: 8 to 27), while the mean mFG score of group B + C was 5.53 ± 3.4 (min-max: 0 to 33). In group A, menstruation irregularity was significantly higher than in B + C group. (P = <0.001) . Androgenic hair loss, the presence of acne and the idea of finding herself hairy compared to other women were significantly higher in group A than in B + C group. The cut-off value for the hirsutism mFG score in the B + C group representing our healthy women living in the Çukurova region was found to be 11 by 95 percent. Conclusion: mFG score varies according to racial and ethnicity, supported by similar studies in the literature. In our study, mFG score of healthy women living in Adana was determined as 5.53 ± 3.4 (min-max: 0 to 33). We think that taking the cut-off value of mFG score 11 for hirsutism assessment in this region may prevent unnecessary diagnosis and treatment costs. The presence of menstrual irregularity, acne, androgenic hair loss is more common in women with real hirsutism (the etiology can be detected) Key words: hirsutism; acne; ferriman gallwey; polycystic over