Treatment with TNF blockers and mortality risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To assess mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, compared with a standard RA population.


METHODS
Patients were recruited from a regional register, which includes over 90% of patients with RA treated with TNF blockers in the area in 1999 or later, and a local community-based cohort of patients with RA, established in 1997. Of a total of 1430 patients in the combined cohort <80 years old, 921 received treatment with TNF inhibitors during the study period. The total cohort was linked with the national register for cause of death. Overall mortality in those treated versus those not treated with TNF blockers was estimated using standardised mortality ratios and time-dependent Cox proportional hazards.


RESULTS
There were 188 deaths per 7077 person-years at risk in the total cohort. Controlling for age, sex, disability and baseline comorbidity, the adjusted HR for death was 0.65 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.93) in those treated with anti-TNF versus those not treated. The effect was significant in women (HR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.82) but not in men (HR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.71).


CONCLUSIONS
After adjusting for disease severity, treatment with TNF inhibitors was found to be associated with a reduced mortality in women but not men with RA. These findings are compatible with a critical role for inflammation in RA-associated premature mortality.
Jacobsson
Lennart T H
LT
Department of Rheumatology, Malmö University Hospital, S-205 02 Malmö, Sweden. lennart.jacobsson@medforsk.mas.lu.se
Turesson
Carl
C
Nilsson
Jan-Ake
JA
Petersson
Ingemar F
IF
Lindqvist
Elisabet
E
Saxne
Tore
T
Geborek
Pierre
P
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha