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Survey study, 2021

Do women who sweat excessively have higher rates of PMS?

Yes. Women with excessive palmar sweating were 1.276 times as likely to develop PMS as women without excessive sweating. The study suggests a link through the nervous system.

Early or limited evidence Women in Taiwan with and without excessive palmar sweating

What they did

The researchers used Taiwan's national health insurance database to identify women with excessive palmar sweating. They matched these women to women of the same age without excessive sweating. They then tracked whether these women were later diagnosed with PMS.

What they found

Women with excessive palmar sweating were 1.276 times as likely to develop PMS compared to women without excessive sweating.

What it means for you

There may be a connection between excessive sweating and PMS through the nervous system. Women with excessive sweating should discuss PMS risk with their doctor. The main limits are this study used insurance diagnosis records (which may miss cases), was done only in Taiwan, and we cannot know if one condition causes the other.

1.276

times higher rate of PMS in excessive sweating group

About the study

Original title
Increased Incidence of Premenstrual Syndrome in Females with Palmar Hyperhidrosis
Authors
Cheng CA, Liang YC, Chang YH et al.
Journal
International journal of environmental research and public health
Year
2021
Study design
Survey study
Open access
Yes
Original abstract

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder affecting the quality of life of women of reproductive age. In a previous study, sex hormone imbalances and alterations in autonomic function were present in PMS, with parasympathetic dysfunction and sympathetic overactivity during the late luteal phase. Palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) presents with oversweating, heat and emotional stimulation, sympathetic hyperactivity and parasympathetic hypofunction. We hypothesized that the incidence of PMS is increased in females with PH. Methods: Data were retrieved from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Database. The patients with PH were identified by the International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) disease code 780.8. Female patients matched by age and index day were used as the control group. The incidence of PMS was considered an outcome by the ICD-9-CM disease code 625.4. The factors related to PMS were analyzed by Cox regression. Results: The adjusted hazard ratio for the incidence of PMS was 1.276 (95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.488) in females with PH. Conclusions: This study found a positive correlation between PMS and female PH patients. Patients and physicians must understand the relationship of PMS with autonomic function alterations and other risk factors to prevent this problematic disorder.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

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