Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disorder associated with impaired health-related quality of life. EQ-5D utility and EQ-VAS scores are used in health economic evaluations, but reported estimates vary across MG populations, instruments, tariffs, and study designs. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and CENTRAL from inception to February 2026. Observational studies and randomized controlled trials reporting baseline or pre-intervention EQ-5D utility or EQ-VAS data in adults with MG were included. Random-effects meta-analyses used restricted maximum likelihood estimation. Subgroup, sensitivity, GRADE-informed certainty, and exploratory aggregate-level meta-regression analyses were performed. Ten studies were included. Eight studies ( n = 1,514) contributed to EQ-5D utility synthesis, yielding a descriptive pooled mean of 0.74 (95% CI 0.68–0.80), with very high heterogeneity (I² = 95.4%; Cochran Q p < 0.001) and a wide prediction interval (0.52–0.96). Seven studies ( n = 2,760) contributed to EQ-VAS synthesis, with a descriptive pooled mean of 66.49 (95% CI 60.99–71.99), very high heterogeneity (I² = 96.3%; Cochran Q p < 0.001), and a wide prediction interval (47.70–85.28). Sensitivity analysis excluding the RCT baseline dataset did not materially change the pooled EQ-5D estimate. In an exploratory analysis based on two studies, utility declined across Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) classes I–IV. Exploratory meta-regression suggested a possible negative association between mean disease duration and utility, but certainty was very low. EQ-5D and EQ-VAS estimates indicate impaired patient-reported health status in MG, but pooled values should be interpreted as low-certainty descriptive summaries, not definitive utility inputs.
Budumuri et al. (Tue,) studied this question.