Evaluation Of The Simplified Ferriman-Gallwey (sFG) Score For The Diagnosis Of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Introduction: Females diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) face an 11-fold higher likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome and glucose intolerance in comparison to their healthy counterparts. Nevertheless, timely identification and treatment of PCOS can mitigate the risk of long-term metabolic irregularities. Consequently, this research aimed to assess the diagnostic efficacy of the simplified Ferriman-Gallwey (sFG) index in identifying PCOS within a resource-constrained environment.Material and Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study among 541 women of reproductive age who visited the Gynecology OPD in Govt Hospital Maharashtra for a period of 8 months (February 2024 to September 2024). The data was collected in the form of pre-validated questionnaire and analysed using SPSS software.Results: The mean (SD) age of the study participants was 31.7 (5.5) years. The mean (SD) and median sFG score was 5.2 (2.0) and 5.0 respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the sFG Index to detect PCOS were 93.2% and 65.9%, respectively, with an AUC of 0.893 (95%CI: 0.860-921; p≤0.05).Conclusion: We conclude that the sFG score may serve as an efficacious screening tool for PCOS in resource-limited settings due to its high sensitivity. This instrument can be utilised by medical officers, gynaecologists, and dermatologists for initial screening of PCOS cases to facilitate further investigation.