title: Delay in the diagnosis of leprosy in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória, Brazil.
abstract: This paper reports on the time between the onset of the first lesion and diagnosis, defined as delay, and is based on results obtained by interviewers from a survey carried out amongst 450 leprosy patients in a leprosy endemic area in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória (MRV), state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. The mean age at diagnosis in all cases was 41.47 years and the median was 42.5 years. The mean age at diagnosis in MB (42.9 years) was greater than in PB (38.5 years). The mean of the delay in all cases was 25.25 months, median 12 months and range 0-360 months. The mean of the delay in MB (27.2 months) was greater than in PB (21.3 months). The results of this study suggest that although the delay in leprosy diagnosis in this region of Brazil was not too long when it was compared with other studies in endemic countries, it is still a problem: 65.4% of patients were diagnosed after a delay of 6 months. The Leprosy Control Programme in this state needs more effective health education in order to reduce the current period of delay before diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Centro Biomédico, Departamento de Medicina Social, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Avenida Marechal Campos 1468, Vitória-ES, Brazil CEP 29040-090. pdeps@ndi.ufes.br
authors.forename: Patricia D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Deps
authors.forename: Bruno V S
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Guedes
authors.forename: Jander
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bucker Filho
authors.forename: Matheus K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Andreatta
authors.forename: Rafael S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Marcari
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000592:standards*