Self-Efficacy, Social Support and Locus of control as correlates of Health-Related Quality of Life in Myasthenia Gravis

Background: Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) measures, obtained through patient-oriented tools, are now considered essential in the assessment of chronic diseases, such as Myasthenia Gravis (MG), to evaluate intermediate levels of clinical improvement and patient’s general health status. The purpose of this study was to explore HRQoL and to evaluate its relationships with self-efficacy, locus of control and social support in a sample of patients with MG. These psychosocial variables resulted to be related to HRQoL in a variety of chronic diseases but less is known about this association in MG. Methods: Adult MG patients were asked to fill out a socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Form B (MHLOC), the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE). The relationships between the study variables were assessed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analyses. Results: 74 patients (68% female; mean age 48 years) were enrolled; HRQoL was impaired both on physical and mental health domains. Self-efficacy and social support were positively correlated with self-reported mental health status and resulted to be the best predictors of HRQoL in MG patients. Conclusions: This study reports that psychosocial dimensions such as self-efficacy and social support are relevant to the improvement of health-related quality of life of patients with MG. Manageable chronic conditions like MG should not only concentrate on improving disease severity but also on patients’psychological factors.