Abstract
The chronic autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis (MG) is characterized by fluctuating muscle weakness, which can lead to a large amount of stress in the patient. The current investigation plans to assess the risk of depressive disorders in MG patients. A retrospective cohort study of patients ageing 20 years and older and also newly diagnosed with MG between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2008, was conducted from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan. Observations of all 349 MG patients and 1,396 control individuals were made until a diagnosis of a depressive disorder by a psychiatrist, until death, or until December 31, 2013. A range of comorbidities were found, such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, with cerebrovascular disease being reported more frequently in MG patients in comparison with control subjects. After adjustment of patients’ sex, age, urbanization, comorbidities, and monthly income, results indicated that MG individuals are 1.94 times more at risk (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15–3.27, P = 0.014) of developing depressive disorders than are controls. This showed an increased risk in the development of depressive disorders in people with MG. Thus, depressive symptoms in MG patients should be regularly assessed.
Highlights
Myasthenia gravis (MG), one of the chronic immune diseases, is described with symptoms of unpredictable fluctuating weakness and fatigue in neck muscles, eye muscles, limb muscles, swallowing, chewing, breathing, and talking throughout the day by having an impact on the skeletal neuromuscular junction
We analyzed the risk of depressive disorder in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients by conducting a nationwide study
Results revealed that in MG patients, in comparison with control individuals, the hazard ratio (HR) for developing depressive disorders during the follow-up period increased to 1.94 times, after adjustment for age, sex, comorbidities, urbanization, and monthly income
Summary
Myasthenia gravis (MG), one of the chronic immune diseases, is described with symptoms of unpredictable fluctuating weakness and fatigue in neck muscles, eye muscles, limb muscles, swallowing, chewing, breathing, and talking throughout the day by having an impact on the skeletal neuromuscular junction. In a previous study using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to investigate the epidemiology of myasthenia gravis in Taiwan, the average annual incidence was 2.1/100,000. The prevalence increased steadily during the study period from 8.4/100,000 in 2000 to 14.0/100,000 in 2007 [4]. MG is a life-long and remitting/relapsing disease with an unpredictable course [3]. On the other hand, continued treatment and chronic symptoms may lead to significant restraint and diminution of health-related quality of life [7,8,9,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
