title: Mortality in Hungarian patients with multiple sclerosis between 1993 and 2013.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to assess the causes of death, the mortality and survival time of MS patients in Hungary.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1993 and 2013, 740 patients (10,303person-years) were treated at our Outpatients' Clinic, of which 121 died. The causes of death were established from the pathological records or the medical certificates of the cause of death. The standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated. Survival time was assessed with Gehan-Breslow test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-four percent of our patients died of MS-related causes. The SMR was 2.52. Primary progressive (PPMS) patients' SMR was higher (4.10) than initially relapsing patients' (RR/SPMS) was. There was no difference between the genders (2.46 for men vs 2.57 for women). The median survival time of woman was 3years longer (p<0.001). RR/SPMS patients' median survival (35years) was more than twice as long as PPMS patients' (14years).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The frequency of the MS-related cause of death, SMR and the median survival times were mostly similar to previous results from Scandinavia and North-America, despite the very different socio-economic backgrounds of these areas which shows that the survival risk can solely be attributed to MS itself. These are the first data on the topic from Central-Eastern-Europe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Dániel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Viktória
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zsiros
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Füvesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zsigmond Tamás
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Kincses
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zsanett
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fricska-Nagy
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, University of Szeged, Petőfi Sándor sgt., 30-34, H-6722 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gyula
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lencsés
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary; MTA-SZTE Neuroscience Research Group, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vécsei
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of General Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Centre, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u 6., H-6725 Szeged, Hungary. Electronic address: bencsik.krisztina@med.u-szeged.hu.
authors.forename: Krisztina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bencsik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000401:mortality*; D020528:Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Progressive / Q000401:mortality*; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000401:mortality*; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Cause of death; Hungary; Mortality; Multiple sclerosis; Survival time