title: Improvement in relative survival of patients with vasculitis: study of 101 cases compared to the general population.
abstract: Immunosuppressive treatment has changed the prognosis of renal vasculitis over time, but improvement in prognosis is difficult to analyze in different historical periods, and can be better demonstrated by comparison with life expectancy of sex- and age-matched people. Long-term survival of 101 patients diagnosed with systemic vasculitis at our center from 1975 to 2002 was retrospectively evaluated in comparison with that of the Region's age- and sex-matched population. Patient and kidney survival significantly increased over time. Multivariate analyses showed that risks of patient and renal death decreased by 10% and 7%, respectively, at each year of follow-up, and increased by 6.3% and 5.2% for each year of age. Relative survival significantly improved over time, approaching that of the general population for cases diagnosed after 1993, mainly in women < 60 years (from 0.671 at 5-years in the first period to 0.916 in the last period), while 5-year-relative-survival was still 0.530 and 0.682 in men and women greater than 60 years, respectively. Poisson-based multinomial analyses confirmed the significant risk of the first periods of diagnosis and of dialysis in worsening of the relative survival of patients compared to that of the general population. Life expectancy in patients with renal vasculitis has improved over time, paralleling a significant increase in steroid pulse/cyclophosphamide association therapy and an earlier diagnosis due to the introduction of the ANCA test. Relative survival has considerably improved, and now approaches that expected in the general population for women, but not for men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Nephrology and Transplantation & International Research Center Autoimmune Diseases, Amedeo Avogadro University, Maggiore Hospital, Novara, Italy. strattanefro@hotmail.com
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stratta
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marcuccio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sandri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Messuerott
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Colla
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosso
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzucco
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciccone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*