Table 7.

Frequency¹ of impact on daily life of myasthenia gravis treatment² by refractory group

Impact Statement	Refractory with IVIg (n = 30) mean (SD)	Refractory without IVIg (n = 71) mean (SD)	Non-Refractory (n = 20) mean (SD)	P value3
1. To become depressed.	2.3 (0.8)	2.0 (0.9)	1.7 (0.7)	0.036
2. Affected my ability to work or attend school.	2.9 (1.0)	2.2 (1.1)	1.6 (0.9)	<.001
3. Made me moody.	2.5 (1.0)	2.1 (0.9)	1.6 (0.7)	0.001
4. Caused me to sleep more than usual.	2.2 (1.0)	1.7 (1.0)	1.6 (0.8)	0.063
5. Caused me to discontinue or avoid taking my medications.	1.9 (1.1)	1.8 (1.0)	1.6 (1.1)	0.520
6. Caused insomnia or interferes with my sleep. I am not able to get a good night’s sleep.	2.8 (1.0)	2.5 (1.1)	1.8 (1.0)	0.008
7. Caused me to require additional medical procedures.	1.8 (1.1)	1.5 (0.8)	1.3 (0.8)	0.083
8. Interfered with my ability to care for my family.	2.6 (1.1)	2.0 (1.0)	1.4 (0.7)	<.001
9. Made me very frustrated and/or demoralized.	2.6 (0.9)	2.1 (1.0)	1.6 (0.9)	0.004
10. Caused me to visit the emergency room and/or be hospitalized.	2.0 (0.9)	1.5 (0.8)	1.1 (0.2)	<.001
11. Sometimes made my MG symptoms worse.	1.9 (0.8)	1.7 (0.8)	1.5 (0.7)	0.185
12. Have limited my daily activities.	2.7 (1.1)	2.2 (1.0)	1.6 (0.9)	0.002
13. Have limited me physically.	3.0 (1.0)	2.4 (1.2)	1.9 (1.0)	0.001
14. Made me very irritable and short-tempered.	2.3 (0.9)	1.9 (1.0)	1.4 (0.7)	0.004
15. With the MG treatment that I’m prescribed it is difficult to adjust the correct dose that I need to control my MG symptoms.	2.0 (1.1)	1.7 (0.9)	1.5 (0.8)	0.109
16. Have made me feel very self-conscious, ugly, and/or unattractive.	2.3 (1.2)	1.9 (1.1)	1.6 (0.9)	0.043
17. Made me uncomfortable being around other people.	2.4 (1.0)	1.9 (1.0)	1.4 (0.7)	0.006
18. Made me worry about catching infections from other people.	2.5 (1.1)	2.5 (1.0)	1.7 (1.2)	0.006
19. Have limited my mobility,	2.7 (1.1)	2.2 (1.1)	1.6 (1.0)	0.002
20. Have caused me to be so tired, I avoid leaving the house or going out in public.	2.5 (1.0)	2.0 (1.0)	1.6 (0.9)	0.006
21. Decreased my quality of life.	2.8 (1.0)	2.3 (1.0)	1.6 (0.9)	<.001
22. Side effects sometimes caused me to have to choose between tolerating my MG symptoms or the side effects of medication.	2.3 (1.1)	1.9 (1.0)	1.6 (1.0)	0.059
23. Made life very stressful and/or overwhelming.	2.6 (1.0)	1.9 (1.1)	1.5 (0.7)	<.001

¹ Frequency was assessed on a 1–4 scale, with 1 being ‘never’ and 4 being ‘almost always’

² Three participants were excluded from this analysis because they did not complete the questions assessing refractory status and could not be classified

³ P-values to compare the three groups are based on ANOVA for continuous variables