A Study on the Degree of Impairment of Whole Person in Leprosy Patients.

During the 8 months from October 1985 to May 1986, the survey was performed on 211 leprosy patients over fifty years old, settled in the four villages of Iksan country, North of Chulla province. In that observation, we investigated the frequency and the degree of impairments according to sex, age, and anatomical location by the "guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment". The noticeable findings were made as follows: 1) Frequency of impairment by anatomical location was significantly higher in hand than eye and foot (p<0.01). 2) Frequency of impairment was significantly increased in eye according as age increase (p<0.01). 3) The degree of impairments of all patients was the highest in hand as 28.7%. 4) By the kinds of impairments, the flextion and the amputation were most common in hand and foot, and loss of central vision was common symptom in eye. 5) The degree of impairments of 211 leprosy patients was shown as 44.1% and increased according as age increase.