Mortality Easing in Pediatric Rheumatic Disease

Significant predictors of mortality identified in the study included the age at the first visit. Being older than 14.5 years was associated with a 2.3-fold greater risk of mortality. Other factors that included sex, ethnicity, time from onset of the disease to diagnosis, and initial medication use were not associated with increased mortality.

Any connective tissue diseases, SLE, DM, primary vasculitis (except for Kawasaki disease and HSP), systemic JRA, and a genetic/chromosomal/metabolic disease were also significant predictors of increased mortality, whereas an arthralgia diagnosis was significantly predictive of better survival.

Morality was higher for systemic JRA, SLE, DM, and vasculitis. But the rates were still significantly lower than in previous studies, they said (Arthritis Rheum. 2010;62:599-608).