INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases of humanity and still has relevant impacts on society, going beyond the biological scope, being associated with social stigmas, psychological suffering and work limitations. OBJECTIVE: To analyze, through an integrative review, through bibliographical research, the impacts of leprosy on the mental health of affected patients. METHODS: This is an integrative review of the literature, carried out in databases: SIELO, MEDLINE and LILACS, using key words, “Leprosy”, “Mental Health”, “Mental Disorders”, “Quality of Life”, “Anxiety” and “Depression.” RESULTS: At the end of crossing the keywords and the entire process of inclusion, exclusion and qualitative evaluation of the materials described in the methodology, a total of 29 articles were evaluated. By reading the articles, it became evident that leprosy and its sequelae affect the mental health of patients by generating changes in the physical aspect firstly and secondly in the social relationships and psychological aspects of patients, these are common changes: emotional fragility, insecurity, hostility, feelings of helplessness, self-depreciation and loss of autonomy. There was a consensus when reading the articles that the vast majority of patients are male, but that female patients are more psychologically affected by the disease. It was also evidenced that leprosy is associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than in the general population and that a large proportion of these patients are at risk of developing depressive disorders. CONCLUSION: People with leprosy need comprehensive monitoring in the health system, which pays attention to mental health, depressive symptoms and encourages the maintenance of social bonds and professional rehabilitation.
|
