Mortality rates were increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) relative to the general population across most causes of death, a recent study found. Furthermore, the potential life years lost (before age 75) among RA patients was roughly double that among those without RA, reflecting higher rate ratios for most causes of death and RA patients dying at earlier ages. Researchers studied an inception cohort of 87,114 RA patients and 348,456 age/sex/area-matched general population comparators from 2000 to 2013. All-cause, cause-specific, and excess mortality rates, mortality rate ratios (MRRs), and years of potential life lost (YPLL) were estimated. Researchers found:

• A total of 11,778 (14% of) RA patients and 32,472 (9% of) comparators died during 508,385 and 1,769,365 person-years (PY) of follow-up, respectively, for corresponding mortality rates of 232 and 184 per 10,000 PYs.
• Leading causes of death in both groups were diseases of the circulatory system, cancer, and respiratory conditions.
• Increased mortality for all-cause and specific causes was observed in RA relative to the general population.
• MRRs were elevated for most causes of death.