title: Primary focal hyperhidrosis: disease characteristics and functional impairment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are few published data on the clinical characteristics of hyperhidrosis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the functional impairment caused by primary focal hyperhidrosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with hyperhidrosis (n = 345) were enrolled at the Department of Dermatology, University of Würzburg. Controls (n = 154) were a convenience sample of subjects without hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis characteristics, health-related quality of life and functional impairment were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with axillary hyperhidrosis reported a later age at onset and a higher prevalence of a family history of hyperhidrosis than patients with palmar hyperhidrosis. Sixty-three percent of patients reported occupational impairment related to hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis patients reported emotional and physical impairment, with a greater proportion of the axillary group reporting impairment. More than 50% of patients reported moderate to extreme impairment in personal relationships and in social situations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primary focal hyperhidrosis is a serious medical condition, affecting work productivity, daily activities, emotional well-being and personal relationships.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. hamm_h@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamm
authors.forename: Markus K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Naumann
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kütt
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kozma
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Teale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001365:Axilla; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D006945:Hyperhidrosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013545:Sweat Glands / Q000294:innervation