Table 4

Psychosocial impact of lymphoedema

Impact
Number
Percent

Interference with selected activities


     Occupation (n = 167)
87
52.1
     Education (n = 5)
5
100.0
     Religious activities (n = 413)
65
15.7
     Leisure activities (n = 413)
30
7.2
     Attending social gatherings (n = 413)
77
18.6
Difficulties in interacting with categories of society


     Family (n = 413)
24
5.8
     Friends (n = 413)
30
7.3
     Work mates (n = 167)
34
20.4
     Community (n = 413)
104
25.2
Patients' feelings regarding the swollen limbα β


     Feeling shy
82
33.3
     Severely restricting daily activities
70
28.5
     Social stigma
71
28.9
     Perceived as major problem affecting their lives
152
61.8
     Depressed
21
8.5
     Fear of elephantiasis
18
7.3

α an individual could have specified more than 1 feeling

β Percent calculated among the 246 patients who stated that the swollen limb was a problem to them

Wijesinghe et al. Filaria Journal 2007 6:4   doi:10.1186/1475-2883-6-4