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.

Psychiatric morbidity in leprosy and psoriasis--a comparative study.

The psychiatric morbidity of 30 leprosy patients was compared with that of psoriasis in a clinic set-up. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was significantly less among leprosy patients (122/1000) than among those with psoriasis (476/1000); but the severity of the problem, as measured by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), was significantly greater among leprosy patients (p < 0.05). There was no difference in the pattern of psychopathology diagnosis between the two groups. Depressive neurosis was the most common diagnosis in both the groups. The relevance of these findings in relation to leprosy is discussed.