Disability index of hands and feet in patients attending an urban leprosy clinic.

189 leprosy patients including 20 from a leprosy colony having disabilities and deformities were graded by the WHO (1960) classification and their disability indices were calculated. Disabilities occurred more frequently in males and the disability index was significantly higher in those with longer duration of the disease and in multibacillary patients. Majority of the disabled patients (82.5%) were manual workers, but the highest disability index was observed in beggars. Irregularly treated and untreated patients had significantly higher disability indices (DI 2.40 and DI 1.40) than those taking regular treatment (DI 1.09). No correlation was found between severity of disability and occurrence of type I and type II reactions. Disabilities of hands and feet occurred with equal frequency.