Severity and mortality of inflammatory rheumatic diseases: Evolution of approaches

Chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. These diseases affect mainly joints but also have systemic involvement. Patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases have an increased risk of comorbidities, both due to disease activity and the use of treatments such as corticosteroids. Thus, a higher mortality rate was shown in these patients, particularly in RA, with a risk of premature death increased by half compared to the general population in epidemiological studies from the early 2000s. However, severe forms of rheumatic diseases, particularly at the radiological level, seem to be decreasing. This review reports the evolution of the incidence, prevalence and mortality in rheumatic diseases rheumatism, including in the context of prescription of targeted treatments.