A Cross-Sectional Study of Depression in the Adult Leprosy Patients Attending Out-patient Department of a Leprosy Hospital in the State of Uttar Pradesh in India

The long-term outcomes of the Hansen’s disease are linked to impairment and stigma which includes major impact on mental health. Numerous psychiatric morbidities have been reported among the affected adults among which the one is depression. Alongside mental health problems, stigmatization is closely related to the condition. Our study aimed to quantify the depression and its associated factors among the adult leprosy patients attending OPD of TLM Hospital, Faizabad. This cross-sectional study was conducted in outpatient department of TLM Hospital Faizabad (Uttar Pradesh, India), from February 2023 to April 2023 and comprised of 204 participants. The information on various variables was collected using structured questionnaire, SARI scale to assess stigma related to leprosy, PHQ-9 to measure depression following which analysis was conducted. 32% of the participants were found to be positive for depression. Severe depression, moderately severe depression and moderate depression were seen in 3.9%, 7.3% and 20.5% of the participants respectively. Visible deformity and encountering high stigma showed an independent association with depression. It can be concluded that prevention of visible deformity by early screening and health education, rehabilitation, palliative care and counselling of stigmatized patients would be a better approach to tackle this situation.