Treatment satisfaction may not alter adherence in MG, study suggests
Older patients found to be less likely to take their medications as directed
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- Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune condition causing muscle weakness, managed primarily through immune-dampening medications.
- Treatment satisfaction does not necessarily alter medication adherence, highlighting the need for better-tolerated regimens.
- Older patients exhibit lower medication adherence, while highly educated patients report less satisfaction with effectiveness.
Satisfaction with treatment doesn’t necessarily affect whether people with myasthenia gravis (MG) take their medications as directed, according to a new study that surveyed nearly 100 patients at a center in China.
Findings also indicate that people living with MG who are older are less likely to take their medications as directed, and that patients who have had more formal education tend to report less satisfaction with the effectiveness of their treatments. The study also highlights that many MG patients are not satisfied with the tolerability of their treatment, highlighting still-unmet needs in MG management.
The study, “Medication Adherence and Treatment Satisfaction in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis: A Cross-Sectional Study,” was published in Bratislava Medical Journal.
Study targeted treatment satisfaction and adherence
MG is an autoimmune disease that causes symptoms such as muscle weakness and fatigue. To manage MG, patients typically rely on medications to dampen immune activity and improve muscle strength.
In this study, scientists wanted to better understand how patients with MG at their hospital felt about their treatments. More specifically, the researchers were interested in treatment satisfaction and adherence — that is, the extent to which patients took all their medications exactly as directed.
To find out, the the team surveyed 97 MG patients who received care at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in 2025. Participants completed two standardized questionnaires: an adherence assessment, the Eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8), and a treatment satisfaction measure, the Nine-item Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9).
“This study assessed medication adherence and domain-specific treatment satisfaction together … and identified factors associated with each outcome. By integrating these dimensions, our study provides an exploratory, patient-centered perspective on potential targets for long-term medication management in MG,” the researchers wrote.
Study finds need for better-tolerated regimens
Based on MMAS-8 results, 20.6% of patients showed low adherence, 54.6% had moderate adherence, and 24.7% had high adherence. In statistical analyses, the researchers found a significant negative correlation between age and MMAS-8 scores — in other words, older patients tended to report worse adherence.
“Older patients may therefore warrant closer assessment of medication burden and self-management difficulties,” the team wrote, noting a need for more research into how best to provide this type of support.
The TSQM-9 assesses treatment satisfaction across three dimensions: effectiveness, convenience, and tolerability. Roughly half (52.6%) of the patients in this study reported being overall satisfied with the effectiveness of their treatment, and a similar proportion (51.5%) were satisfied with treatment convenience. Rates of satisfaction with treatment tolerability were notably lower at only 13.4%.
“These findings highlight the pressing need for better-tolerated regimens … that reduce the long-standing trade-off between therapeutic efficacy and tolerability in MG management,” the researchers said.
Statistical analyses showed that patients with more formal education were significantly less likely to report being satisfied with the effectiveness of their treatment.
This finding suggests that adherence and treatment satisfaction may capture distinct aspects of patients’ medication experiences.
At the same time, patients who reported difficulty paying for medications were less likely to be satisfied with the convenience of treatment. Analyses also showed that patients taking immunosuppressants (a class of medications that reduce immune activity) tended to report less satisfaction with treatment tolerability.
“Higher educational level was associated with lower effectiveness satisfaction, while immunosuppressant use and difficulty paying for medication were associated with lower tolerability and convenience satisfaction, respectively,” the researchers wrote.
The scientists noted that MMAS-8 and TSQM-9 scores were not significantly correlated, implying that patients’ satisfaction with treatment doesn’t necessarily affect whether they take treatments as directed.
“This finding suggests that adherence and treatment satisfaction may capture distinct aspects of patients’ medication experiences,” the researchers wrote.
The team stressed, however, that this study was limited to a small number of patients surveyed at one center, making it difficult to draw sweeping generalizations from the results.
“These findings should therefore be considered exploratory and validated in larger, multicenter longitudinal studies,” they wrote.
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