title: Mortality and causes of death of 513 Danish patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: A multicentre cohort of 513 clinic attenders with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was retrospectively identified, representing 4185 patient-years of follow-up. Expected numbers of death were calculated by means of age- and sex-specific mortality rates of the general Danish population. The observed number of deaths was 122. The survival rates were 97%, 91%, 76%, 64% and 53% after 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years respectively. The overall mortality rate was 2.9% per year (95% CI 2.4-3.5), and the standardized mortality rate (SMR) was 4.6 (95% CI 3.8-5.5). The causes of death included active SLE (n = 19), end stage organ failure due to SLE (n = 16), infections (n = 25), malignancy (n = 9), cardiovascular disease (n = 32), and other causes (n = 21). SLE was directly related to one third of the excess mortality. In conclusion, SLE patients in the present cohort had a 4.6-fold increased mortality compared with the general population and half of the deaths were caused by SLE manifestations or infections, especially in young patients during the early period of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology at Copenhagen University Hospital at Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ullman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Junker
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voss
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tarp
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Overeem Hansen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skaarup
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pødenphant
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Halberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000401:mortality; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis