Post-discharge of subjects with leprosy: Prevalence of physical disabilities and overlapping of other diseases

Objective: To characterize the prevalence of physical disabilities in individuals affected by post-discharge leprosy and its relationship with chronic diseases.Method: The study population consisted of 603 new cases of leprosy reported between 2001 and 2014 in endemic municipalities in the state of Piauí. Data was collected through questionnaires and simplified neurological evaluation. Statistical analyzes were performed by frequency distribution, Pearson’s Chi-square test and Fisher’s Exact test. Results.The prevalence of physical disability was 70.43%, and there was a significant association with the multibacillary clinical form, male gender, old age and low educational level (p <0.01).Conclusion:Overlapping of diseases was not a risk factor for the development of physical disabilities, but there was a higher frequency of diabetic and hypertensive subjects in the group with physical disabilities. It is necessary to plan health actions that are more suitable to the population, strengthening the longitudinality of care to chronic conditions.