Screening for Sinister Causes of Hirsutism

Approximately 5 percent of women have hirsutism,1 and 40 to 60 percent of hirsute women have elevated serum androgen concentrations.2 More than 95 percent of women with hirsutism have the relatively benign conditions of idiopathic hirsutism or the polycystic ovary syndrome. Other, more sinister causes of hirsutism and menstrual disturbance include congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing's syndrome, and benign or malignant androgen-secreting adrenal or ovarian tumors. In this issue of the Journal, Derksen et al.3 report the results of a study that provides useful information concerning the identification of adrenal tumors in women with hirsutism.Fourteen women with hirsutism and adrenal . . .