01406nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653002600065653001100091653001100102653001000113653001200123653000900135653002100144653001600165100001400181700001500195245007900210856004100289300001000330490000700340520077900347022001401126       1980                            d  c1980 Dec10aAdult10aEpidemiologic Methods10aFemale10aHumans10aIndia10aleprosy10aMale10aMental Disorders10aMiddle Aged1 aKumar J H1 aVerghese A00aPsychiatric disturbances among leprosy patients. An epidemiological study.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v48n4a10.pdf  a431-40 v483 a<p>An epidemiological study was done to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disturbances among leprosy patients. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 540 subjects with leprosy were selected from a total population of 5745 leprosy patients. A mental health evaluation was conducted on 494 of these subjects. Forty-nine of these patients were found to have a psychiatric disturbance, giving a prevalence rate of about 99 per 1000. Depressive reaction was the most common disturbance seen. Those patients who were sick for a longer time and those who developed physical deformities were found to be more prone to get psychiatric disturbances. It is emphasized that supportive psychotherapy is important in the management and rehabilitation of leprosy patients.</p>  a0148-916X