The relationship between Body Mass Index and leprosy type

Abstract

Background  Leprosy, sometimes referred to as Hansen's disease, is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by bacteria that predominantly impacts the peripheral nerves but may additionally harm the eyes, muscles, bones, skin, the mucous membrane of the mouth, upper respiratory tract, reticuloendothelial system, eyeballs, and the testicles. The factors that predispose to illness development must be recognized. Poverty, under nutrition, food scarcity, insufficient food supply, and a lack of food diversity are the most obvious risk factors.   Objective To determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and leprosy type.   Methods This is an analytical cross-sectional study design involving 30 subjects with leprosy. Clinical examination and history-taking were carried out and the BMI was taken into account.   Results It was discovered that this study's leprosy subjects were more likely to be male, with 20 male subjects (66.6%) and 10 female subjects (33.3%). 11 patients (36.6%) of the study group's participants were beyond the age of 47. The correlation between the BMI value and the type of leprosy has a positive direction of 0.123 with very low relationship criteria and there’s no relationship between body mass index and leprosy type (p=0.069).   Conclusion No association between body mass index and leprosy type.