Impairment in quality of life among patients seeking surgery for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating): Preliminary results

Background: The present paper describes the initial stages of the developme nt and administration of a short, disease-specific, health related question naire to assess the impact of suffering from hyperhidrosis (excessive sweat ing) on the Quality of Life (QoL) of patients who are anticipating surgery for this disorder. Method: The study was performed in two stages: 1. The li fe domains in which the condition impairs QoL were assessed by in-depth int erviews with 10 patients suffering from hyperhidrosis. 2. A questionnaire c overing five life domains was built based on these interviews. 3. This ques tionnaire was administered to 48 patients, 30 females and 18 males between the ages 15 and 48. Results: Results showed that subjective QoL was signifi cantly lower among females in four of the five life areas and that duration of the condition correlates with a lower quality of life. A regression ana lysis showed that the subjective suffering of the patients was explained ma inly by social aspects. Conclusions: The questionnaire is a novel attempt t o assess QoL in a disorder with strong esthetic and social consequences and could improve communication between patients and their physicians.