Psychiatric Morbidity in Patients with Leprosy in a Tertiary Care Centre: Case-Control Study

Background: Patients with leprosy have a relatively higher risk of psychiatric morbidity. Research reports indicate that they are due to the stigma & ignorance associated with the illness & social variables like emotional, social& health mal-adjustments. There are only limited number of studies investigating the frequency & nature of psychiatric morbidity in leprosy patients. Objectives: To evaluate the frequency & nature of psychiatric disorders in patients suffering from leprosy & to study the relationship between psychiatric morbidity in patients with leprosy & the socio-demographic & clinical variables. Methodology: One hundred & forty subjects, 100 leprosy & 40controls with chronic dermatological disorders were evaluated. Tools used were ICD-10 AM symptom checklist to screen for & diagnose psychiatric disorders, Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) to assess psychopathology & Socio-economic Status Schedule (SESS) to assess socio-demographic variables. Results: Depressive disorders were the most common psychiatric morbidity in patients with leprosy, but there were no significant differences in the frequency & nature of psychiatric disorders in patients with leprosy when compared to the control group. The psychiatric morbidity in leprosy patients does not have significant statistical relationship with socio-demographic & clinical variables studied.