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Arthritis Associated With Lower Life Expectancy

Med Headlines - Individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis have a lower life expectancy than the general population.

Study analyzed mortality rates of individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in Rochester, MN, between 1955 and 1995. The scope of the study was later expanded to include residents of Olmsted County, between 1995 and 2005. Data was then compared to the national statistics. It was found that although life expectancy for the general population has increased in the past few decades, it has not increased in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

“We found no evidence indicating that RA patients experienced improvements in survival over the last four to five decades,” stated the report. Given that the life expectancy of the genral population has increased, while that of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers has remained constant, it can be assumed that the relative mortality rate of rheumatoid arthritis patients has actually decreased.

According to the report, mortality rate for rheumatoid arthritis patients has remained constant in the past five decades, 2.4 per 100 person -years for women, and 2.5 per 100 person -years for men. Mortality rate of the general population has decreased from 1 per 100 person -years in 1965 to 0.2 per 100 person -years in 2000.

“Although the reasons for the widening mortality gap are unclear… cardiovascular deaths constitute at least half of the deaths in subjects with RA, and it is possible that the cardiovascular interventions that improved life expectancy in the general population may not have had the same beneficial effects in persons with RA,” Dr. Sherine Gabriel said.

Study was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletel and Skin Diseases

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