The Study of Social Participation and Its Influences on Young and Middle-aged Patients with Myasthenia Gravis

Juan Chen¹Lengmeng Wang²Yan Fang¹Yanhong Pan¹Lin Lin¹Lifeng Zhang^3*

• ¹First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
• ²Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
• ³Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

Objective: To describe the social participation of young and middle-aged patients with myasthenia gravis and explore the main influences to provide a basis for improving social participation behavior. Methods From January 2020 to December 2022, 145 patients with myasthenia gravis aged between 18 and 60 years who were recruited from a Grade A tertiary hospital in Shenzhen were selected via a convenience sampling method. A total of 145 patients with nonmyasthenia gravis aged between 18 and 60 years who received physical examination at the same hospital at the same time as the control group were included. A general information questionnaire, Assessment of Life Habits, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Family Assessment Device, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used to evaluate the survey. The results The total social participation score of young and middle-aged patients with myasthenia gravis was 88.90±33.05. Among them, three dimensions with higher scores were independent participation in social life and social relations, activity, and self-care. Compared with those of the same age group, the social participation scores of young and middle-aged patients with myasthenia gravis were higher than those of the control group, who were in activities, independently participated and helped and supported others, indicating that their level of social participation was lower than that of the control group. Multiple linear regression revealed that the level of social participation in female patients who were unemployed, lived in rural areas, needed daily care, had a long disease course, had weak daily activity ability, had depression, and had poor family functioning was relatively low (P<0.001, R²=0.527). Conclusion The level of social participation of young and middle-aged myasthenia gravis patients was relatively low and far lower than that of the control group, especially in terms of independent participation in social life and social interactions, activities and self-care, which needs to be improved.