Laser treatment improves quality of life of hirsute females

Hirsutism has a significant impact on the quality of life of affected patients. We report a prospective study of 45 hirsute females attending a laser clinic. Of these, 15 patients completed a pair of modified dermatology life quality index (DLQI) questionnaires, immediately before and at varying intervals (up to 6 months) after laser treatment. The mean DLQI score before treatment was 12.8 (median = 9.0, SD = 8.5). The mean DLQI score at 1-2 months was 7.0 (median = 2.5, SD = 10.0, P = 0.06), at 2-4 months it was 9.2 (median = 10.0, SD = 10.0, P = 0.48) and at 4-6 months it was 11.5 (median = 10.5, SD = 8.0, P = 0.88). There was a major improvement in DLQI score at 1-2 months but longer-term benefit was not observed. In a separate questionnaire, hirsute females (n = 45) reported a high level of patient satisfaction (71.1%) and willingness to have further treatment (77.8%) despite the fact that 97.1% had unwanted hair back at pretreatment levels at 6 months.