A new study from India, published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, is drawing attention to an often underrecognized dimension of leprosy care. While the disease is typically managed as a standalone condition, emerging evidence suggests that a subset of patients face additional health challenges that may complicate outcomes. The study analyzed data from 10,428 adults affected by leprosy across six tertiary care centers in India. The findings show that 81.9% of patients had leprosy alone.
However, 16.4% had one additional condition, and 1.7% experienced multimorbidity, defined as the presence of two or more coexisting conditions alongside leprosy. Among the associated conditions, diabetes was the most common, affecting 9.3% of patients. This was followed by poor wellbeing in 5.6% and cataract in 1.5%. While the overall prevalence of multimorbidity appears relatively low, the clinical…
