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Cardiovascular mortality in women with rheumatoid arthritis
R Myllykangas-Luosujärvi1, K Aho, H Kautiainen
1Rheumatism Foundation Hospital, Heinola, Finland.
Insights
Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience a 34% excess of cardiovascular deaths, a significant factor in their increased mortality. This highlights the critical need to address cardiovascular health in RA patient care.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality.
- Determinants of this excess cardiovascular risk in RA patients remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular cause of death in women.
- To identify cardiovascular mortality as a key factor in the excess mortality observed in women with RA.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study using Finnish national health insurance data.
- Inclusion of all women who died in 1989 and had medication reimbursement for RA.
- Analysis of demographic and health insurance statistics for mortality computations.
Main Results:
- Cardiovascular causes accounted for 50% of deaths among 1186 women with RA.
- A 34% excess mortality from cardiovascular causes was observed compared to the general female population.
- Median age at death for women with RA was 2.5 years lower than the general female population for cardiovascular deaths.
Conclusions:
- Cardiovascular disease is a major contributor to the excess mortality in women with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Addressing cardiovascular risk factors is crucial for improving outcomes in women with RA.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship of deaths from cardiovascular causes in mortality of women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is increasing evidence that subjects with RA have increased mortality from cardiovascular causes, but little is known of its determinants.
Methods:
Our study included all women subjects in Finland who died during 1989 and who were entitled to reimbursement for medication for RA under the national health insurance plan. Demographic data on the Finnish population and health insurance statistics were used for computations.
Results:
Half of the 1186 deaths of women were due to cardiovascular causes. The distribution of specific diagnoses within this disease group did not differ appreciably from that in the female population as a whole. However, there was a 34% excess of deaths due to cardiovascular causes. The median age at death in women with RA was 2.5 years lower than that in the whole population with deaths due to cardiovascular causes.
Conclusion:
Deaths due to cardiovascular causes constitute and important determinant in the surplus of mortality associated with RA in women.