title: Mortality of patients with bullous pemphigoid in Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The reported mortality rates and prognoses of bullous pemphigoid (BP) vary among different countries. However, the mortality rate of BP has not been investigated in Korea.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to evaluate the mortality rate of Korean patients with BP in comparison to that of an age-matched general population in Korea, and to identify prognostic factors affecting overall survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective analysis of 168 patients diagnosed with BP between 1993 and 2013 at Gangnam Severance Hospital in Seoul, Korea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 1-, 2-, and 5-year mortality rates of BP patients were 19.46% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.83-27.00), 29.13% (95% CI, 21.91-38.08), and 58.03% (95% CI, 47.04-69.45), respectively. The median age was 73 years (range, 6-99 years). The standardized mortality ratio ranged from 2.43 (95% CI, 0.12-11.96) to 9.56 (95% CI, 2.43-26.02), depending on the age group. In multivariate analysis, old age at the time of diagnosis, stroke, diabetes, and delayed diagnosis were associated with increased mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study was conducted as a retrospective analysis and was based at a single institution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mortality rate of patients with BP is significantly higher than that for the general population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Hye
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: kimsc@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Soo-Chan
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002423:Cause of Death; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010391:Pemphigoid, Bullous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: Korea; autoimmune bullous disease; bullous pemphigoid; mortality; prognosis