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Review
. 2020 Jul 14;12(7):e9184.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.9184.

A Review of Psychiatric Comorbidity in Myasthenia Gravis

Christina Law  1 , Claire V Flaherty  2 , Sankar Bandyopadhyay  2
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Psychiatric Comorbidity in Myasthenia Gravis

Christina Law et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

This study aimed to review studies focused on the affective comorbidities associated with myasthenia gravis and to determine the extent to which neuromuscular treatment modalities address non-somatic aspects of autoimmune myasthenia gravis. Depression, anxiety, and emotional hyperactivity can aggravate myasthenia gravis, hinder accurate diagnoses, and presumably influence overall health-related quality of life. Studies were identified using PubMed Medline and Web of Science to assess the effects of psychological factors on myasthenia gravis, encompassing 49 years of research worldwide. After analysis, approximately 6,060 patients from 32 studies worldwide between 1971 and 2020 were included. Standard-of-care approaches to diagnosis and treatment continue to under-appreciate the prevalence or impact of mood disorders in myasthenia gravis. The majority of studies evaluated demonstrated an association between myasthenia gravis and mood disorders. However, the initiative to detect and treat affective comorbidities probably remains suboptimal. Although treatments for the somatic effects of myasthenia gravis have evolved over the past century, the paradigm of clinical practice has yet to adequately address the management of psychological impacts on the disease. This review is hoped to raise the necessary awareness in this regard.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; health related quality of life; mood disorders; myasthenia gravis; myasthenic crisis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Published research activities (distribution of published work in 32 countries from the year 1971 to 2020).
distribution of published work in 32 countries from the year 1971 to 2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Chronological publications on mental health issues in myasthenia gravis.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Interdependence of various clinical factors in myasthenia gravis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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