The Relationship between Clinical and Chemical Hyperandrogenism in 14-18-Years- Old Girls

Background: One of the most common endocrine disorders in women's medicine is the increased androgen and the symptoms of increased androgens in women such as polycystic ovary syndrome. The two main components to diagnose this syndrome are menstrual disorder and clinical or laboratory hyperandrogenism, but other causes should be ruled out in order to confirm the diagnosis. This study aims to examine clinical Hyperandrogenism in female students of 14 to 18 years old in Shiraz in 2010.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 3200 female high school students of 14-18 years old in Shiraz. Data collection tools include questionnaires containing personal details, clinical Hyperandrogenism features (acne, alopecia and hirsutism based on Freeman-Galway scale) and test results. The ultrasound was conducted based on Adams criteria. The data results are analyzed using SPSS-15 software and χ2 and t statistical tests.
Results:  In this study, the frequency of hirsutism is 3.2%, prevalence of acne is 5% and alopecia is 4.2%. Mean of free testosterone (1.647±0.835) was higher in the group with hirsutism, acne and alopecia. Independent t-test showed no significant relationship between patients with hirsutism, acne and alopecia and non-affected people in terms of mean of total testosterone and free testosterone. However, there is a significant relationship between people with acne and hirsutism and polycystic ovary compared with those with acne and hirsutism and those without polycystic ovary (p >0.05).
Conclusion: This study indicated that clinical and chemical hyperandrogenism can be a criterion to diagnose with polycystic ovary syndrome, but ultrasound was not helpful.