CLINICAL OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
Why do people with rheumatoid arthritis still die prematurely?
Correspondence to:
Professor S E Gabriel, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Foundation, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA; gabriel.sherine{at}mayo.edu
Premature death has been long recognised as a manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Three lines of evidence can explain why patients with RA die prematurely and why the mortality gap between patients with RA and the general population appears to widening. First, patients with RA have a higher risk of several serious comorbid conditions and they tend to experience worse outcomes after the occurrence of these illnesses. Second, patients with RA do not appear to receive optimal primary or secondary preventive care. And third, the systemic inflammation and immune dysfunction associated with RA appears to promote and accelerate comorbidity and mortality. This paper provides a brief summary and interpretation of the data underlying these findings. Together, these results provide a compelling argument in favour of a focused research programme aimed specifically at eliminating premature death in patients with RA.
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This article has been cited by other articles:
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Meune, C., Touze, E., Trinquart, L., Allanore, Y.
(2009). Trends in cardiovascular mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis over 50 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Rheumatology (Oxford)
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