Comparison of EQ-5D-3L and metabolic components between patients with hyperhidrosis and the general population: a propensity score matching analysis

It is important to understand the characteristics of patients with hyperhidrosis, which are different from the general population, for treating hyperhidrosis. Sympathetic overactivity, which might play an important role in hyperhidrosis, can contribute to metabolic diseases and the decreased quality of life (QoL). We compared the metabolic components and health-related QoL between patients with hyperhidrosis and the general population. We conducted a case-control study and compared the characteristics of the patients (N = 196) with hyperhidrosis and propensity score-matched controls (N = 196) selected from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Metabolic components and EQ-5D-3L (EQ-5D) index were compared using a two-way mixed analysis of covariance after adjusting for confounders. Patients with hyperhidrosis had significantly higher waist circumference (estimated mean values ± SD for patients and the control group, 85.5  ±  10.8 cm vs 81.3  ±  10.3 cm, p < 0.001), blood pressure (SBP, 121.1  ±  16.9 vs 111.7  ±  10.3, p < 0.001 AND DBP, 77.5  ±  12.8 vs 73.6  ±  8.6, p < 0.001, respectively), fasting glucose (97.1  ±  11.3 vs 91.5  ±  9.2, p < 0.001), and the number of components of metabolic syndrome (1.4  ±  1.3 vs 1.0  ±  1.2, p = 0.002), and significantly lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (144.3  ±  53.2 vs 158.3  ±  55.7, p = 0.002) and EQ-5D values (estimated mean values (standard error) for patients and the control group, 0.92 (0.01) vs 0.97 (0.01), p < 0.001) compared to the control group after adjustment. The patients with hyperhidrosis had more central obesity and unfavorable metabolic parameters and a lower EQ-5D index compared with the general population, emphasizing clinical importance of hyperhidrosis to be cured in aspect of metabolic components as well as patients’ QOL.