@article{97495,
  author = {Roberts H and Mahato J and Govindasamy K and Darlong J and Raju M},
  title = {A study on Depression using PHQ9 among Patients Attending  Outpatient Department of a Tertiary Care Leprosy Hospital in the City of Kolkata, West Bengal},
  abstract = {<p>The consequences of leprosy are often disability and impairments. The physical health ramifications that are evident in the studies, as well as the stigma attached to the disease have implications for a person’s mental health. Depression, among other mental health issues, are frequent among persons with leprosy. This study aims to assess the burden of depression among patients suffering from the consequences of Leprosy (Disability) and its association with demographic and clinical factors. The study was conducted in the Premananda Memorial Leprosy Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. During the period of study, 99 consecutive patients aged 18 years and above attending the outpatient clinic were assessed for depression using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The questionnaires were administered in the patient’s language, either in Bengali or Hindi.PHQ-9 is a validated tool to screen for depression that carries nine questions, each with a score of 3. The clinician had administered the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to report the findings, and multivariate linear regression was applied to study the association between depression and other factors. The burden of depression among these 99 leprosy patients attending Tertiary Care Hospital as screened with the PHQ9 was about 53.5%. People with grade 1 and grade 2 disabilities had 2.6% and 5.6% more chances of developing signs of mental ill-health than those without any disability.The duration of disease and levels of disability wereobserved tohave a strong positive relation with depression among persons with leprosy. There is a need for effective counselling services at Tertiary care centres for reducing the psychosocial consequences.</p>
},
  year = {2022},
  journal = {Indian Journal of Leprosy},
  volume = {94},
  chapter = {227-235},
  url = {https://www.ijl.org.in/published-articles/29092022080107/3.pdf},
  language = {eng},
}