Why some women have a hairy chin

Hair growth on women's chin and abdomen signifies presence of excess male hormone, a new study has suggested. The researchers have asserted that that examining the chin and upper and lower abdomen is a reliable, minimally invasive way to screen for excessive hair growth in women. "We wanted to find a way to identify this problem in women that was as non-intrusive and accurate as possible," said Dr. Ricardo Azziz, reproductive endocrinologist and President of Georgia Health Sciences University. "We believe this approach is approximately 80 per cent accurate and will be less traumatic for women in many situations than the full body assessments currently used," said Azziz, corresponding author of the study. For the study, Azziz examined 1,116 female patients at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1987-2002 and 835 female patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from 2003-09 with symptoms of androgen excess or male hormone excess. Study authors note the method needs further evaluation, including whether it can be used to monitor success of hirsutism (excessive hair growth in women) treatment. The study has been published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.