Risk factors for disability in leprosy patients: a cross-sectional study

Background: The disability in leprosy is caused by M. leprae invasion and infiltration into the skin and the mucous membrane that results in nerve damage and deformities, loss of sensation, paralysis, and ocular manifestation. The risk of disability can be influenced by several factors, including the type of leprosy, disease duration, the number of nerves affected, leprosy reactions, gender, age, type of treatment, socioeconomic factors, and leprosy case detection methods. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factor of disability in leprosy patients. Methods: It was a cross-sectional retrospective analytical study to discover the correlation between risk factors with the grade of disability in leprosy patients who were treated in Dermatovenerology Outpatient Clinic Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya from 2017 to 2019. Result: This study found a total of 275 leprosy patients with disabilities, consisting of 76 patients (27,6%) with grade-1 disability and 199 patients (72,4%) with grade 2 disability. There was a statistically significant correlation between age (p=0,025), duration of disease (p=0,001), and multidrug therapy (MDT) history (p=0,001) with the incidence of disability. Gender, bacterial index, type of leprosy, and leprosy reaction were not significantly related to disability. Conclusion: This study showed that age, duration of disease, and the history of MDT treatment were related to the incidence of disability. The longer the disease’s duration despite the patient having received MDT, the more risk of the patient having a disability.