Hirsutism secondary prevention

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Rasam Hajiannasab M.D.[2] Eiman Ghaffarpasand, M.D. [3]

Overview

Effective measures for the secondary prevention of hirsutism include lifestyle modification and pharmacological prevention. The goal of secondary prevention is to prevent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (diabetes mellitus).

Effective measures for the secondary prevention of hirsutism include lifestyle modification and pharmacological prevention.

First-line non-pharmacological therapy to decrease future cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (diabetes mellitus)
They have to be considered more in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
They are better to combine with:
- Behavioral therapies (psychological)
- Diet
- Exercise^[1]^[2]^[3]

Although the lifestyle modification is really decrease the risk of future diseases, but sometimes it will be necessary to add a medicine to lifestyle modification.
These drugs are generally used for:
- Dyslipidemia with statins
- Metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes with insulin sensitizing agents
- Hypertension with anti-hypertensive agents
- Severe obesity with anti-obesity agents
Studies suggest that obese women with PCOS may be less likely to develop hirsutism if they eat a low-calorie diet.^[4]

↑ Karimzadeh MA, Javedani M (2010). “An assessment of lifestyle modification versus medical treatment with clomiphene citrate, metformin, and clomiphene citrate-metformin in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome”. Fertil. Steril. 94 (1): 216–20. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.02.078. PMID 19463994.
↑ Graff SK, Mário FM, Alves BC, Spritzer PM (2013). “Dietary glycemic index is associated with less favorable anthropometric and metabolic profiles in polycystic ovary syndrome women with different phenotypes”. Fertil. Steril. 100 (4): 1081–8. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.06.005. PMID 23830153.
↑ Nieuwenhuis-Ruifrok AE, Kuchenbecker WK, Hoek A, Middleton P, Norman RJ (2009). “Insulin sensitizing drugs for weight loss in women of reproductive age who are overweight or obese: systematic review and meta-analysis”. Hum. Reprod. Update. 15 (1): 57–68. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmn043. PMID 18927072.
↑ Franks, Stephen (2012). “The investigation and management of hirsutism”. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care. 38 (3): 182–186. doi:10.1136/jfprhc-2011-100175. ISSN 1471-1893.