Istanbul Leprosy Hospital. Seven hundred and eleven leprosy patients were evaluated according to their age, gender and type of disease and disability according to the WHO disability grading system (1980). There were 527 males (74'2%) and 184 females (25 '8%) in the group. The average age was 50·0 ± 13·5 years and the average duration of disease was 25·9 ± 13·2 years. Six hundred and seventy-eight patients (95'4%) were in borderline (BL) and lepromatous (LL) leprosy.The extent of disabilities was very high in 711 leprosy patients. It was found that 539 of the patients (75'8%) had eye disabilities, 511 of them (7 1'8%) had hand disabilities, 52 1 of them (73'3%) had foot disabilities.The most frequent eye, hand and foot disabilities were a decrease of vision (52'7), acute or chronic iridocyclitis (48'8%), slightly-marked corneal sensory loss (43'2%), mobile claw hand (33'3%), palmar insensitivity (16'3%), plantar ulcer (37'2%) and plantar insensitivity (19'8%).Eye deformities were the most common of the three affected areas in this study.