Prevalence of palmar hyperhidrosis and mental health status analysis among 25 680 soldiers

Objective To investigate palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) and the effects on mental health in a military command. Methods 26 392 soldiers were enrolled in this study by stratified-cluster random sampling. Each was required to complete a self-administered questionnaire regarding PH. The soldiers were assessed with symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90) and the factor scores were compared with army norm and civilian norm. Results A total of 25680 subjects fulfilled the questionnaires, and the response rate was 97.3%. The prevalence of PH in the survey sample was 2.66% and the mild, moderate, and severe PH were 1.49%, 0.83%, and 0.34%, respectively. The total mean score of SCL-90 in soldiers with PH (1.72±0.54) was higher than those none PH soldiers (1.65±0.58), civilian norm (1.49±0.41) and military norm (1.63±0.30). Multiple regression analysis showed that age, level of education and severity of PH were important factors for mental health of soldiers with PH (P<0.05). Conclusion PH is more common in the military, which affect the mental health. The health service departments should pay attention to the treatment and psychological intervention of PH. Key words: Palmar hyperhidrosis; Military; Symptom checklist-90; Epidemiological survey