Factors Associated with Multibacillary Leprosy in a Priority Region for Disease Control in Northeastern Brazil: A Retrospective Observational Study

• Published in: Journal of Tropical Medicine
• Main Authors: Maria Aparecida Alves de Oliveira Serra, Crislane da Silva Santos, Pedro Martins Lima Neto, Karyne Gleyce Zemf Oliveira, Francisca Jacinta Feitoza de Oliveira, Ariadne Siqueira de Araujo Gordon, Daniella Pontes Matos, Raina Jansen Cutrim Propp Lima, Janaina Miranda Bezerra, Ismália Cassandra Costa Maia Dias, Floriacy Stabnow Santos, Ana Cristina Pereira de Jesus Costa, Marcelino Santos Neto, Antônio Rafael da Silva, Márcio Flávio Moura de Araújo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2019
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5738924; https://doaj.org/article/7858db09bea44e2dbfe26931d33fb7c4

Background. Leprosy is an infectious disease that can lead to physical disabilities and stigmatization. It remains an important public health problem, especially in Brazil. Objective. To analyse sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with multibacillary leprosy in a hyperendemic region of the disease in northeastern Brazil. Method. This is a retrospective observational study with secondary data acquired from 2012 to 2015, from a group of leprosy cases reported in a reference outpatient clinic for the treatment and followup of leprosy in the city of Imperatriz, Maranhao, in northeastern Brazil. Results. From 905 new cases of leprosy studied, 656 (72.5%) were classified as multibacillary leprosy and 249 (27.5%) as paucibacillary leprosy. We observed that men were more likely to present 5 to 15 skin lesions (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.18-1.49; p <0.0001) and >15 skin lesions (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.09 -1.45; p = 0.005) and a lower chance of having <5 skin lesions (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.59-0.76; p <0.0001). Women were more likely to have no affected nerves compared to men (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.20-1.77; p <0.0001). The age range of 16 to 60 years showed a greater chance of having <5 skin lesions (OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.007-1.20; p = 0.03) and a lower chance of having 5 to 15 skin lesions (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.23; p= 0.008) and a lower chance of being a grade I disability ( CI= 0.73-0.94; p=0.83) and II (OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.77-0.98; p=000.1). Conclusion. Cases of multibacillary leprosy were associated with male gender, low educational level, and clinical variables such as number of skin lesions and grade I or II disability.