Gender and quality of life in myasthenia gravis patients from the myasthenia gravis foundation of America registry

Ikjae Lee; Henry J Kaminski; Haichang Xin; Gary Cutter

doi:10.1002/mus.26104

Gender and quality of life in myasthenia gravis patients from the myasthenia gravis foundation of America registry

Muscle Nerve. 2018 Feb 21. doi: 10.1002/mus.26104. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ikjae Lee¹, Henry J Kaminski², Haichang Xin³, Gary Cutter⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
² Department of Neurology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
³ Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

PMID: 29466829
DOI: 10.1002/mus.26104

Abstract

Introduction: Quality of life (QOL) has been poorly characterized among patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) other than assessments performed within the clinical setting.

Methods: Patients age ≥ 18 years who were diagnosed with MG and registered with the MG patient registry between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2016, were included. Demographic information, disease related history, and QOL were compared between men and women using multivariable analysis.

Results: A total of 1,315 subjects (827 women) were included. Women were significantly younger, had a younger age at symptom onset, and were more likely to have thymoma and thymectomy. The 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life scale (MG-QOL15) was significantly worse in women. MG-QOL15 score was comparable between women who had thymectomy and men with or without thymectomy.

Discussion: QOL among MG patients is worse in women compared with men, but this disparity is eliminated in women who have undergone thymectomy. Muscle Nerve, 2018.

Keywords: MG-QOL15; MGFA registry; gender; myasthenia gravis; quality of life; thymectomy.