People Diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis have Lower health-related quality of life and Need More Medical and Caregiver Help in Comparison to the General Population: Analysis of Two Observational Studies

IntroductionMyasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease causing extreme muscular fatigue, triggering problems with vision, swallowing, speech, mobility, dexterity, and breathing. This analysis intended to estimate the health-related quality-of-life impact, the medical burden, and the need for caregiver help of people diagnosed with MG.MethodsMyRealWorld-MG (MRW) is an observational study among adults diagnosed with MG in 9 countries. The General Population Norms (POPUP) observational study enrolled representative members of the general population in 8 countries. In both digital studies, respondents entered personal characteristics and provided data on medical conditions, EQ-5D-5L, HUI3, MG-Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL), sick leave, caregiver help, and medical care utilization.ResultsIn MRW (n = 1859), 58.4% of respondents had moderate-to-severe MG. Average utility values were lower in MRW versus POPUP (0.739 vs. 0.843 for EQ-5D-5L; 0.493 vs. 0.746 for HUI3), and declined with more severe disease (0.872, 0.707, 0.511 EQ-5D-5L utilities and 0.695, 0.443, 0.168 HUI3 utilities for mild, moderate, and severe MG, respectively). Taking sick leave in the past month was 2.6 times more frequent among people diagnosed with MG compared to the general population (34.4% vs. 13.2%) and four times more people diagnosed with MG reported needing help from a caregiver (34.8% vs. 8.3%). Use of medical care was twice as likely in MRW in comparison with POPUP (51.9% vs. 24.6%).ConclusionThis direct comparison of people diagnosed with MG and the general population using two large international studies revealed significant negative impact of MG. Results were consistent across all outcomes, in all countries.

Automated summary

This study aimed to estimate the impact of myasthenia gravis (MG) on the health-related quality of life, medical burden, and need for caregiver help. The results showed that MG has a significant negative impact on patients, affecting their vision, swallowing, speech, mobility, dexterity, and breathing, and requiring more caregiver assistance and medical resources.