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Systemic Sclerosis Mortality Rate May Be Underestimated

  |  Issue: November 2017  |  

The years-of-life-lost figures were also troublesome to Dr. Nikpour, who notes, “It is very sobering to learn that women with scleroderma lose up to 22 years of life and men with scleroderma lose up to 26 years of life due to the disease.”

Gender Differences Found

The SMRs demonstrate that gender differences exist. The difference in mortality was greater for men both cohorts, but more so in the inception cohort when compared with the prevalent group. This suggests faster progression of the disease and more death in the early stages of the disease for men.

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“The early mortality risk in scleroderma means that lifesaving treatments must be deployed early in the disease before severe irreversible organ damage occurs,” says Dr. Nikpour. “Early detection and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension through screening, and early initiation of treatment for ILD in patients who have an early decline in lung function are two examples of interventions that may lead to improved outcomes.”

Kurt Ullman has been a freelance writer for more than 30 years and a contributing writer to The Rheumatologist for 10 years.

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Reference

  1. Hoa Y, Hudson M, Baron M, et al. Early mortality in a multinational system sclerosis inception cohort. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017 May;69(5):1067–1077.

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