Causes
During puberty, the female body will begin to produce a mixture of female and male sex hormones—estrogen and testosterone, respectfully. This is what causes body hair to grow under the armpits and groin. A careful balance of hormones is needed to maintain the female-pattern hair growth. Should the mix of hormones become unbalanced with a high quantity of testosterone and other male sex hormones, the girl may develop hirsutism.
Other causes of hirsutism include the following:
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The most common cause of hirsutism is PCOS, which can cause imbalances in sex hormones, resulting in missed periods, irregular and painful periods, obesity, infertility, and ovarian cysts.
• Cushing’s syndrome. This condition puts the body under extreme duress by exposing it to high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. It develops when the adrenal glands become fatigued or you have taken medications, like prednisone, for prolonged periods.
• Congential adrenal hyperplasia. This condition is when the adrenal glands produce steroid hormones at an abnormal rate.
• Tumors. On rare occasions, a tumor will form on the adrenal glands or an androgen-secreting mass will develop on the ovaries.
• Certain medications. Women who are on medications to treat endometriosis or depression may sometimes develop hirsutism. The risky medications include danazol, systemic corticosteroids, and fluoxetine, to name a few.
• Unknown causes. Sometimes, there is no identifiable reason for hirsutism, save for the patient being part of a specific population or ethnicity, such as South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean.
