Prevalence of hyperandrogenism and its associated factors among female university students at taif city, Saudi Arabia

Background: Hyperandrogenism is a common disorder in adolescent females. Objectives: Our study investigated prevalence of hyperandrogenism among female students of Taif University in kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its associated correlates. Methods: The study was conducted from September, 2017 to June, 2018. Nine hundred undergraduate volunteer students from the female university participated in the study. Questionnaires about demographic characters, menstrual history of students, self-estimate of hirsutism and alopecia were distributed to students. An mF-G score ≥ 8 was used to identify hirsutism and we used Ludwig Scale to identify cases of androgenic alopecia. Results: A high prevalence; 18.4% of hyperandrogenism; its main component was hirsutism was encountered among students. Significant associations between hyperandrogenism and smoking (p value 0.040), marital status (p value 0.027), young age of menarche (p value < 0.0001) and irregularity of cycles (p value = 0.002) were observed among students. Conclusion: Hyperandrogenism is a significant problem among adolescent females at Taif University in Saudi Arabia.