Correlates of psychiatric morbidity in patients with leprosy.

The relationship between psychiatric morbidity in 30 leprosy patients under treatment as assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and certain variables of their illness and psychosocial factors is examined in this paper. Physical disability and duration of illness were the illness variables considered; knowledge and adjustment were the psychosocial variables included. Bell's Adjustment Inventory (BAI) measured the latter. psychiatric morbidity was positively correlated with physical disability (p 0.05). The importance of appropriate knowledge, social stigma and physical disability in leprosy is discussed in addressing the psychiatric morbidity of leprosy patients.