It’s an old trope that if you have sweaty palms, it means you’re nervous about something. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, there could be a much more extreme versions of this physical reaction to anxiousness.
The study, which lists 11 different medical doctors as authors, found people with a condition called hyperhidrosis, which causes them to sweat profusely, also typically have higher rates of chronic anxiety and depression. Researchers found 21 percent of people with hyperhidrosis had anxiety, and 27 percent of people with this ailment had depression. Study subjects without hyperhidrosis suffered from anxiety and depression at rates of 7.5 and 9.7 percent, respectively.
“It is significant that hyperhidrosis is associated with anxiety, but it makes perfect sense,” Debra Jaliman, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told ATTN:. “Excess anxiety makes people sweat more, can make them shake, and causes redness of the face. These are all the physical manifestations of anxiety.”
