{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T03:28:29Z","timestamp":1777951709639,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772496000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/journals\/pages\/open_access\/funder_policies\/chorus\/standard_publication_model"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Quality of life (QoL) is important for people with leprosy since the disease can cause physical and psychological problems. These problems may result in stigma and social discrimination. India reported 107\u00a0851 new leprosy cases for the year 2023\u201324, accounting for 61.6% of new cases detected globally. This systematic review was conducted to assess the QoL among people affected by leprosy in India using existing literature. The Scopus, PubMed and Infolep databases were searched for articles for this systematic review and included only studies conducted in India. The critical appraisal tool of cross-sectional studies (AXIS) was used to assess the study quality and risk of bias. The search identified 253 articles. After screening titles and abstracts, 23 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 12 studies were included in the systematic review. The World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref instrument was used to measure QoL. Of the 12 studies, the factors of disability (9 studies) and old age (8 studies) were highly associated with low levels of QoL. Five studies identified that low levels of QoL are associated with being female with the leprosy. Early identification and prevention of disabilities are important steps in improving the QoL. Increased investment is needed in leprosy programmatic activities and research to achieve the target of zero leprosy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/trstmh\/trag008","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T12:37:34Z","timestamp":1768567054000},"page":"436-443","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Quality of life in Indian people affected by leprosy? A systematic review from the country with the highest burden of leprosy cases"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"120","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3637-3760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pitchaimani","family":"Govindharaj","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU) Department of Allied Health Sciences, , Chennai 600116 ,","place":["India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0274-2193","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sanjana","family":"Agrawal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU) Department of Public Health, , Chennai 600116 ,","place":["India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4896-4576","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Senthilkumar","family":"Ramasamy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU) Department of Public Health, , Chennai 600116 ,","place":["India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9308-5557","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Suganya","family":"Panneerselvam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Department of Psychiatric Nursing, , Raipur 492099 , Chhattisgarh ,","place":["India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-4198-2495","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandhya Bharathi","family":"Shanmugasundaram","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU) Department of Public Health, , Chennai 600116 ,","place":["India"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"2026050406270709200_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.47985\/dcidj.393","article-title":"Disclosure of disease among women affected by leprosy: a qualitative study","volume":"31","author":"Ramasamy","year":"2020","journal-title":"Disabil CBR Incl Dev"},{"key":"2026050406270709200_bib2","article-title":"Eliminate leprosy-related discrimination, prejudice and stigma to end leprosy for good","author":"World Health Organization"},{"key":"2026050406270709200_bib3","article-title":"National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP)","author":"Directorate General of Health Services"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026050406270709200_bib4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mjafi.2020.11.009","article-title":"Awareness of leprosy in an urban slum of Western Maharashtra Post 35 years of the National Leprosy Eradication Program (NLEP)","volume":"78","author":"Reddy","year":"2022","journal-title":"Med J Armed Forces India"},{"issue":"7","key":"2026050406270709200_bib5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"332","DOI":"10.4103\/1995-7645.380726","article-title":"A step towards zero leprosy: active case finding through community-based approach","volume":"16","author":"Ramasamy","year":"2023","journal-title":"Asian Pac J Trop Med"},{"key":"2026050406270709200_bib6","article-title":"Update on leprosy cases in the country"},{"issue":"10","key":"2026050406270709200_bib7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0010761","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010761","article-title":"Experiences of living with leprosy: a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis","volume":"16","author":"Rahman","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026050406270709200_bib8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0003431","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0003431","article-title":"Household costs of leprosy reactions (ENL) in rural India","volume":"9","author":"Chandler","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026050406270709200_bib9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"334","DOI":"10.47276\/lr.73.4.334","article-title":"Is beggary a chosen profession among people living in a \u201cleprosy colony\u201d?","volume":"73","author":"Kaur","year":"2002","journal-title":"Lepr Rev"},{"key":"2026050406270709200_bib10","article-title":"WHOQOL: measuring quality of life","author":"World Health Organization"},{"key":"2026050406270709200_bib11","volume-title":"Towards zero leprosy. 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