Abstract
Background Leprosy is an infectious disease that can lead to physical disabilities and stigmatization. It remains an important public health problem, especially in Brazil. Objective To analyse sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with multibacillary leprosy in a hyperendemic region of the disease in northeastern Brazil. Method This is a retrospective observational study with secondary data acquired from 2012 to 2015, from a group of leprosy cases reported in a reference outpatient clinic for the treatment and followup of leprosy in the city of Imperatriz, Maranhao, in northeastern Brazil. Results From 905 new cases of leprosy studied, 656 (72.5%) were classified as multibacillary leprosy and 249 (27.5%) as paucibacillary leprosy. We observed that men were more likely to present 5 to 15 skin lesions (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.18-1.49; p <0.0001) and >15 skin lesions (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.09 -1.45; p = 0.005) and a lower chance of having <5 skin lesions (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.59-0.76; p <0.0001). Women were more likely to have no affected nerves compared to men (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.20-1.77; p <0.0001). The age range of 16 to 60 years showed a greater chance of having <5 skin lesions (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.007-1.20; p = 0.03) and a lower chance of having 5 to 15 skin lesions (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.23; p= 0.008) and a lower chance of being a grade I disability ( CI= 0.73-0.94; p=0.83) and II (OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.77-0.98; p=000.1). Conclusion Cases of multibacillary leprosy were associated with male gender, low educational level, and clinical variables such as number of skin lesions and grade I or II disability.
Highlights
Leprosy is an infectious disease that can lead to the appearance of physical disabilities that result in stigmatization
We observed that men were more likely to present 5 to 15 skin lesions (p 15 skin lesions (p = 0.005; OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.09 -1.45) and a lower chance of having
The age range of 16 to 60 years showed a greater chance of having
Summary
Leprosy is an infectious disease that can lead to the appearance of physical disabilities (dermatoneurological lesions) that result in stigmatization It remains an important public health problem, especially in Brazil [1]. Imperatriz city, the second largest socioeconomic and state political centre, ranks 13th among Brazilian cities in the number of new cases of leprosy, with an incidence rate of 73.87 per 100,000 inhabitants. This number classifies the city as a hyperendemic region [7, 8]. Leprosy is an infectious disease that can lead to physical disabilities and stigmatization It remains an important public health problem, especially in Brazil. Cases of multibacillary leprosy were associated with male gender, low educational level, and clinical variables such as number of skin lesions and grade I or II disability
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