Pediatric patients experience hyperhidrosis in multiple focal areas

Pediatric patients reported hyperhidrosis in multiple focal areas, with disease severity correlating with depression and anxiety, according to a poster at the Masters of Pediatric Dermatology meeting.

“Though onset typically occurs during childhood/adolescence, the condition is underdiagnosed and undertreated; further, the impact of the disease in pediatric patients is not well characterized,” Zakiya P. Rice, MD, FAAD, and colleagues wrote in the poster.

Rice and colleagues developed a quantitative survey after previous qualitative research. Pediatric patients aged 6 to 18 years (boys, 49%; mean age at onset, 8 years; severe hyperhidrosis, 44%) who had bilateral sweating that caused moderate or major impairment and occurred “most of the time” completed the survey. Among 539 respondents, 86% indicated sweating episodes at least four times per week. The survey incorporated the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale, General Anxiety Disease 7 (GAD-7) questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9).

Axillary sweating (82%) and palmar sweating (73%) were reported most frequently, with 97% of participants reporting sweating in multiple focal areas.

The proportion of patients with severe sweating increased with age (grades 1 to 3, 33% vs. grades 9 to 12, 63%) and the number of years since symptom onset (0 to 1 years, 30% vs. 8+ years, 72%). Severe sweating also correlated with higher anxiety (GAD-7 score, 10.5 vs. mild sweating, 5.9) and depression (PHQ-9 score, 10.8 vs. mild sweating, 5.5).

“Findings reported here provide valuable insights into the unmet needs and experiences of pediatric sufferers of primary hyperhidrosis, a population that is currently understudied,” the researchers wrote.