Abstract: Objective: To investigate the epidemic and clinical features of leprosy cases among the elderly population reported in Shaanxi Province. Methods: Descriptive analysis of data of leprosy patients in Shaanxi Province from January 2004 to January 2022 through LEPMIS were performed. Results: 323 new leprosy cases were found, of which 54 cases (16.7%) were elderly patients (over 60 years old), with an average age of 67.0 years old. Among these elderly patients, 77.8% were males, 96.3% of the elderly patients were low-income population, 57.4% had low education level (illiterate or semi-illiterate), 79.6% had marriage history, and 29.6% were infected at home, 70.4% were positive for bacteria, with the proportion of multi-bacteria type as high as 83.3%. Although the proportion of serious skin lesions (skin lesions > 5) was as high as 75.9%, the proportion of serious nerve lesions (nerves ≥2 lesions) was as high as 68.5%, and the proportion of secondary deformity was as high as 53.7%, there were still 83.3% had no leper reaction. Conclusion: The elderly patients with leprosy have more serious skin and nerve damage, and at the same time, and the high risk of disability, which suggests that there may be a long delay in diagnosis in this population.

Key words: leprosy, aged, epidemiology