Associations between occupation, leprosy disability and other sociodemographic factors in an endemic area of Brazil

oleh: Juan Cisneros, José Antonio Ferreira, Maria Aparecida de Faria Grossi, Thelma de Filippis, Ana Laura Grossi de Oliveira, Sandra Lyon, Jessica K. Fairley

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01

Deskripsi

<h4>Background</h4> In Brazil, new leprosy cases with grade-2 disability (G2D) have been increasing. Physical disability has been associated with experienced stigmatization, psychological distress, and social restriction. <h4>Objectives</h4> To identify factors associated with leprosy disability in an endemic area of Brazil focusing on occupational and other sociodemographic factors. <h4>Methods</h4> Between July and December 2015, adult patients with multibacillary leprosy who attended a clinic in Belo Horizonte, Brazil were enrolled. Social, clinical, and demographic factors were collected from an administered questionnaire and medical charts. Occupations were categorized as manual vs non-manual. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were performed to study associated factors with disability (Grade 1 disability (G1D) and G2D combined). <h4>Findings</h4> Seventy-three patients were enrolled with 48 (65.8%) presenting with either G1D or G2D at the time of enrollment. Twenty-nine (39.7%) had G2D. About half of the patients (n = 36, 49%) reported a manual labor occupation and reactions were common (n = 53, 73%). On univariate analyses, older age (p = 0.048) and low education (p = 0.007) were associated with disability. On multivariable analyses, only low education (primary or less) was associated with disability (OR = 6.34, 95% CI 1.37, 29.26). Greater distance from clinic, income, smoking, marital status, and occupation were not associated. <h4>Main conclusions</h4> Low education was associated with leprosy disability, consistent with prior studies, and therefore should be a focus for disability reduction programs. While the sample size of this study may have limited detection of associations between disability and social determinants tested, half of the patients reported a manual job, highlighting the need for more extensive studies on associations between occupation, disability, and related injuries.