Premium
Chronic stress, depression and personality type in patients with myasthenia gravis
Author(s) -
Bogdan A.,
Barnett C.,
Ali A.,
AlQwaifly M.,
Abraham A.,
Mannan S.,
Ng E.,
Bril V.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/ene.14057
Subject(s) - medicine , depression (economics) , myasthenia gravis , chronic stress , beck depression inventory , analysis of variance , clinical psychology , psychiatry , anxiety , economics , macroeconomics
Background and purpose Stress is a known risk factor for the onset and modulation of disease activity in autoimmune disorders. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to determine any associations between myasthenia gravis ( MG ) severity and chronic stress, depression and personality type. Methods In all, 179 consecutive adult patients with confirmed MG attending the Neuromuscular Clinic between March 2017 and December 2017 were included. At baseline, patients were assessed clinically and they completed self‐administered scales for disease severity, perceived stress, depression and personality type. Results Higher disease severity [Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index (MGII)] showed a moderate correlation with depression score (Beck's Depression Inventory, Second Edition, r = 0.52, P < 0.001) and a lower correlation with chronic stress (Trier Inventory for Assessment of Chronic Stress, r = 0.28, P = 0.001). Chronic stress scores were different according to personality types ( anova , P = 0.02). The linear regression model with MGII score as the dependent variable showed R 2 = 0.34, likelihood ratio chi‐squared 74.55, with P < 0.0001. The only variables that predicted disease severity were depression scores ( P < 0.0001) and female sex ( P = 0.003). Conclusions A significant association of MG severity with depression and chronic stress was found, as well as with female gender. These findings should raise awareness that the long‐term management of MG should address depression and potential stress and consider behavioural management to prevent stress‐related immune imbalance.