Females with hirsutism have increased risk of mental health issues: Study

Mental health (MH) hospitalizations and concomitant MH illnesses are more common in female inpatients with hirsutism, and length of hospital stay (LOS) is much longer, says an article published in Archives of Dermatological Research.

Hirsutism is a common disorder marked by excessive hair growth that can cause significant mental health (MH) burden as well as psychosocial suffering. Hospitalization and mental health emergencies may result from these psychosocial symptoms. However, it is unclear how often hirsutism-related MH hospitalization is and what factors predict it. In order to ascertain the likelihood and correlations of MH hospitalization among females in the US with hirsutism, this study was carried out.

For this study, a representative sample of US hospitalizations from 2005 to 2014, the National Inpatient Sample, included data from female inpatients. To investigate the relationship between comorbidities and hirsutism diagnosis, multivariable logistic regression models were built.

The key findings of this study were:

1. In comparison to patients without hirsutism, individuals with hirsutism had greater likelihood of having 14 of the 15 MH illnesses examined as comorbid diseases.

2. In addition, in multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and insurance coverage, individuals with hirsutism had increased likelihood of being hospitalized for an MH condition.

3. Inpatients with hirsutism had a longer average hospital stay for an MH condition than those without it.

4. As predictors of prolonged LOS, hirsutism and MH hospitalization had a two-way interaction.

5. Younger age, having health insurance, longer LOS, and inversely linked with elective admission were all associated with MH hospitalization among female inpatients with hirsutism.

Among female inpatients, hirsutism is linked to longer hospital stays and admission for more MH illnesses. More so, younger patients with public health insurance had significantly greater rates of MH hospitalization because of socio-demographic inequalities. These findings demonstrate the need of expanding access to hirsutism outpatient follow-up, since poor disease management may lead to poorer MH outcomes and more frequent hospitalization. To discover the best methods for reducing the number of hirsutism-related MH visits, more research is required.

Reference:

Kim, A. B., Cheng, B. T., & Hassan, S. (2022). Hirsutism is associated with increased hospitalization for mental health disorders. In Archives of Dermatological Research. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-022-02477-2