Endocrine Abstracts

Background: In clinical practice, hirsutism is commonly seen among women of fertile age and defined as the presence of terminal hair with male distribution in women.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the clinical, biochemical and etiologic features of hirsutism in women from the oriental region of Morocco.

Materials and methods: 36 female patients presenting with hirsutism at Department of Endocrinology, Mohammed VI Hospital, Oujda, from 2012 to 2018 were assessed using the recently approved diagnostic guidelines for hyperandrogenic women with hirsutism.

Results: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was the cause of hirsutisme in 25 patients (69.4%) followed by idiopathic hirsutism (IH) in 7 patients (19.4%). Others causes of hirsutism included cushing’s syndrome in 3 patients (8.4%), and late onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia in 1 patient (2.8%). Age at presentation of PCOS was 25±5. 6years (mean ± SD) and 61% of the subjects were overweighted or obese. Besides, 21 (84%) of patients with PCOS had an oligo/anovulatory cycle while the remaining 4 patients (16%) maintained normal regular menstrual cycle. Luteinizing hormone and total testosterone were significantly higher in patients with PCOS than in those with IH.

Conclusion: We find that PCOS is the commonest cause of hirsutism in our clinical practice and PCOS is prominent amongst young obese female. However, more studies are needed to verify our findings.

Keywords: hirsutism, polycystic ovary syndrome, idiopathic hirsutism