Riaz Gul, Mustafa Alam, Mukhtar-ul Haq.
Psychosocial Effects on Women Presenting with Hirsutism.
J Gandhara Med Dent Sci Jan ;1(1):9-17.

Objectives: To determine different psychosocial effects in different classes of hirsute ladies and to assess the level of depression in them due to Hirsutism .Methodology: Cross sectional study conducted for duration of three months from Jan 10, 2013 to April 30, 2013.at a private clinic of laser therapy on 115 patients who visited the clinic for treatment with some degree of Hirsutism. non probability convenient sampling technique was used for cases selection. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection which was designed with consultation of psychiatrist from lady reading hospital Peshawar. All patients of different classes were included in the study. Patients with other dermatological disorders were excluded from the study. A pilot study was conducted on 10% of sample size. Prior consent was taken from all respondent after explaining the purpose of the study. The data was collected, tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted by SPSS Version 16 and the results were presented in form of tables and graphs. Results: We found in our study that majority of patients of Hirsutism who visited for treatment were of young age i.e.from15 to 25 years (82.5%) and most of them presented with some abnormal psychosocial effects.(81.4%).Abnormal psychosocial effects were found more in patients who came from urban areas(84.7%) as compared to those who came from rural areas(77.4%), more in un married females (86.3%) as compared to married (73%), more common in employed class (91.2%) as compared to un employed. When behavior of the colleagues with them due to their Hirsutism was asked it was found that most of them (83%) responded that the attitude of their colleges with them is abnormal due to their Hirsutism due to which majority of them (86.8%) hide their disease from others.to assess the level of anxiety/ depression in patients due to their disease a standard scale was used, and was found that 73 (83.2%) were having moderate to severe anxiety (score 11-21) while 16(16.8%) were having border line anxiety (score 8-10). Conclusion: Patients with Hirsutism usually present with some degree of psychosocial effect which lead them to anxiety and depression. The psychosocial effects in women with Hirsutism were found more common in young age, working class ladies, un married and females residing in urban areas. Recommendations: Health education regarding the disease, social and moral support to the patients, treatment facilities at all district levels especially laser therapy should be provided.

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