[Nature and incidence of causes of death in chronic polyarthritis]

The study comprises 79 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and their death rate and causes of death in comparison to an age- and sex-matched conrol group. The patients had died in the years from 1952 till 1977 and an autopsy was done on all of them in the University Institute of Pathology. Infections turned out to be the most common cause of death (48%), second in rank were various cardiac diseases (20%) while the percentage of other causes of death never exceeded 10 per cent. Possible relations between infections and their importance as a cause of death are discussed.