Hyperhidrosis Prevalence and Demographical Characteristics in Dermatology Outpatients in Shanghai and Vancouver.
There is a wide variation in the reported prevalence of primary hyperhidrosis in the literature. Further, it is unknown if primary hyperhidrosis is a lifelong condition, or if demographical factors influence hyperhidrosis prevalence.



This study aims to examine the prevalence of hyperhidrosis in multiple ethnic groups from two ethnically diverse cities and to determine if the prevalence of primary hyperhidrosis changes according to age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, and geographical locations.



In total, 1010 consecutive subjects attending dermatology outpatient clinics in Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital and 1018 subjects in Skin Care Center of Vancouver General Hospital were invited to fill out a questionnaire on their presenting concerns, demographical information, and sweating symptoms. The subjects were then classified to have primary hyperhidrosis using the criteria of International Hyperhidrosis Society, late-onset hyperhidrosis, or no-hyperhidrosis. The prevalence of primary HH and late-onset HH was calculated for the entire study population and in subgroups stratified according to age of examination, sex, ethnicity, presenting diagnosis, body mass index, and specific study cities. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the impact of these factors on HH prevalence.



The prevalence of primary hyperhidrosis is very similar in Shanghai and in Vancouver, at 14.5% and 12.3% respectively. In addition, 4.0% of subjects in Shanghai and 4.4% subjects in Vancouver suffer from late-onset HH. Primary HH has highest prevalence in those younger than 30 years of age, decreasing dramatically in later years. Caucasian subjects are at least 2.5 times more likely to develop axillary hyperhidrosis compared to Chinese subjects. Obesity does not have much influence on primary HH presentation, although it does increase significantly the development of late-onset HH. Finally, there is no major difference of hyperhidrosis between Chinese subjects in Shanghai and Vancouver.



The data were gathered according to patients' self-reports only and the sample size was relatively small in some groups after stratification for gender, ethnicity and age.



Prevalence of primary HH and late-onset HH is similar in dermatology outpatients independent of geographical locations. However, certain specific HH subtypes can show great variations according to ethnicity, age, body mass index and sex.
Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Clinical School of Anhui Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Yudan
Y
Liu
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.|Molecular Medicine Lab and Chieng Genomics Center, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
Rayeheh
R
Bahar
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Sunil
S
Kalia
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.|Molecular Medicine Lab and Chieng Genomics Center, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
Rachel Yuanshen
RY
Huang
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Arlie
A
Phillips
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.|Molecular Medicine Lab and Chieng Genomics Center, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
Mingwan
M
Su
Department of Dermatology, First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Sen
S
Yang
Department of Dermatology, First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Xuejun
X
Zhang
Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Clinical School of Anhui Medical University, Shanghai, China.|Sexually Transmitted Disease Institute, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Pingyu
P
Zhou
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.|Molecular Medicine Lab and Chieng Genomics Center, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
Youwen
Y
Zhou
D000328:Adult; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006945:Hyperhidrosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence