Risk factors

Several factors can influence your likelihood of developing hirsutism, including:

• Family history. Several conditions that cause hirsutism, including congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovary syndrome, run in families.
• Ancestry. Women of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and South Asian ancestry are more likely to have more body hair with no identifiable cause than are other women.
• Obesity. Being obese causes increased androgen production, which can worsen hirsutism.