An epidemiological study of hyperhidrosis

Abstract

Background: Hyperhidrosis affects approximately 3% of the population. The nature of those patients presenting for treatment has not been well studied, however.

Objective: The objective was to perform a descriptive, multicenter study of patterns of patients referred for treatment of focal hyperhidrosis.

Methods and materials: A convenience sampling of consecutive patients referred for consideration of BTX-A therapy was surveyed.

Results: A total of 508 patient records (266 patients from Canada; 242 from the United States) were reviewed; 62.8% of those patients were female. The most common presentation was axillary hyperhidrosis in 73.0% of patients. Most of the patients were moderately to severely affected by their hyperhidrosis, with Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale scores of 3 or 4. There were trends found of facial and scalp hyperhidrosis affecting more men than women and being triggered by food much more frequently than in other sites of hyperhidrosis.

Conclusion: This study has demonstrated novel findings, especially in the differing presentations of hyperhidrosis between men and women.