Abstract
Objective: To assess the prevalence of primary hyperhidrosis (PH) and associated factors in a population
sample from a capital city in northeastern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study with population samples
from five random neighborhoods of a capital of northeastern Brazil. Validated questionnaire "Diagnosis of
primary hyperhidrosis". Results: Of 1330 individuals, 34.2% men and 65.8% women. The prevalence of PH
was 17% among men, 14.9% among women and had an overall value of 15.9%. The average age of the
interviewees was 25.9 ± 10.2 years. The age of onset occurred mainly between 0 and 19 years of age. Both
bilateral sweating and worsening symptoms with stress showed significant values (p<0.05). Sweating was
mainly bilateral, at least once a week and worsened by stress (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of PH in
the sample population was 15.9%, similar in both sexes and, in most cases, bilateral. The onset of symptoms
occurred mainly during childhood and adolescence, with negative implications for daily activities, and the
primary symptoms of hyperhidrosis are exacerbated by stress.