Orofacial conditions and their relation to the sense of coherence among participants afflicted with leprosy in West Bengal State: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: About 4 million people are disabled by leprosy. Eighty-six percent of leprosy patients reside in Southeast Asia and Brazil. India accounts for up to 70% of total cases. In India, it is highest in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the quality of life in terms of sense of coherence (SOC) among patients afflicted with leprosy in the state of West Bengal (located in eastern India on the Bay of Bengal).

Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study was conducted among estimated sample size of 350 participants who were afflicted with leprosy drawn from across the state of West Bengal, India. Data were collected on a specially designed pro forma.

Results: Most of the participants afflicted with leprosy were in the age group of 40-77 years, and there was predominance of males, with most of them belonging to the upper-lower socioeconomic class. On evaluating the incidence of extraoral lesions through ranking, facial nodules and facial spots were highest 182 (52%), while among intraoral lesions such as melanin pigmentation 176 (50%) and inflammatory papillary hyperplasia 150 (42.8%), was seen in greater fraction. The results of bivariate analysis between SOC and variables under investigation show that majority of the cases, i.e., 258 (47.14%) revealed the SOC interpretation as "poor." Statistical analysis showed significant difference in relation to age (P ≤ 0001) and socioeconomic status (P = 0.053) of participants.

Conclusions: We conclude that 52% of the population were having facial nodules and facial spots and 50.2% of the population had intraoral manifestation such as melanin pigmentation. Analysis of SOC revealed that majority of the cases were interpreted as "poor."