The subjects in the control group were selected from among the
participants of the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (KNHANES IV-3), 2009, which was conducted
by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This was a
large, nationwide representative survey that included 10 533
people. Of these, 1578 individuals aged 65 years completed
anthropometric measures and had their body composition data
analyzed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The control
group individuals were selected from among these 1578 individuals
by propensity score matching with the leprosy survivor group.
A logistic-regression model was created to derive a propensity
score with age and height in each sex-matched group. After this
process, 36 subjects who were matched by sex, age, and height to
36 leprosy survivors were included in the control group. This
matching process was supported by the Medical Research
Collaborating Center of our hospital.