Sleep disturbances are prevalent among patients with myasthenia gravis even in clinically stable cases, with approximately 68% of patients presenting sleep disturbances, and psychological factors such as anxiety and health-related quality of life warrant increased attention in the management of these patients.
Approximately 68% of clinically stable patients with myasthenia gravis presented sleep disturbances as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
Within the sleep disturbances group, 51% of patients scored ≥3 on the STOP-Bang scale, indicating a higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea.
Univariate analysis identified multiple risk factors for sleep dysfunction in patients with MG.
PSQI global scores showed significant linear correlations with MG-QOL 15, STOP-Bang, PHQ-9, and SAS scores.
Multivariate analysis revealed that sex, marital status, STOP-Bang score, SAS score, and MG-QOL 15 score were independently correlated with the PSQI score.
This research suggests that sleep problems are very common among people with myasthenia gravis (MG), a neuromuscular disease that causes muscle weakness. In a study of 306 MG patients from three medical centers, about 68% had poor sleep quality even when their MG was considered clinically stable. Additionally, about half of those with sleep problems showed signs that put them at higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. The study found that several factors were linked to worse sleep in MG patients. Older age, lower education, being single, having a more severe or widespread form of MG, having had a myasthenic crisis (a life-threatening worsening of symptoms), and having a thymoma (a tumor of the thymus gland) were all associated with sleep problems. Importantly, when the researchers looked at which factors most strongly and independently predicted poor sleep, anxiety levels and overall quality of life related to MG were among the top factors, alongside the risk of sleep apnea and some demographic characteristics like sex and marital status. This research suggests that managing sleep problems in MG patients requires attention beyond just the physical symptoms of the disease. Psychological wellbeing — particularly anxiety — and how much the disease affects a patient's daily quality of life appear to play a major role in sleep health. Screening MG patients for sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, and addressing mental health concerns such as anxiety could be important parts of comprehensive MG care.
Yan J, Choi K, Fu P, Lin J, Gui M, Li Y, et al.. (2026). Sleep disturbances in patients with myasthenia gravis: A cross-sectional study.. Neurologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nrleng.2025.501925