Prevalence of Cutaneous Disorders in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of cutaneous disorders of PCOS and indicate the specific cutaneous lesions that have reliable association with PCOS. Methods: 134 female participants had met the criteria to be diagnosed as PCOS. Dermatological examination regarding hirsutism, acne, androgenic alopecia and acanthosis nigricans as well as any other cutaneous manifestations and assessment of each as regards duration, distribution and scoring was done. Hormonal assay for FSH/LH was done together with ultrasound examination. Results: The study included 134 female participants who had met the criteria to be diagnosed as PCOS; the range of age was 18 - 35 years, with a mean (26.31 ± 4.47 years). Among the PCOS patients at least one cutaneous disorder was found in 18 patients (13.4%), two cutaneous disorders in 44 patients (32.8%), three cutaneous disorders in 47 patients (35.1%), four cutaneous disorders in 24 (17.9%) and five cutaneous disorders were found in only one patient (0.7%). Statistically, there was a significant positive correlations between hirsutism, acne, acanthosis nigricans and LH/F.S.H ratio (p < 0.001), and total testosterone level (p = 0.019, p < 0.001, p < 0.001) respectively. Statistically, there was non-significant difference between patients with and without seborrheic dermatitis regarding LH/F.S.H ratio and total testosterone level (p > 0.5). Conclusions: The current study showed the possible association of hirsutism, acne, acanthosis nigricans, and seborrheic dermatitis with PCOS. These cutaneous manifestations could be relied upon as potential cutaneous indicator of PCOS. Using Rotterdam criteria women who met criteria of PCOS had a higher prevalence of hirsutism, acne, AN, androgenic alopecia and seborrheic dermatitis.