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), knowledge about the disease (p < 0.01) and social, emotional and health maladjustment (p < 0.01), but not with duration of illness (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.