A study published in the November issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism found that the mortality rates for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients did not improve over the last 40 years even though the rates for the population in general improved significantly.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic evaluated the mortality trends in 822 of their patients who were first diagnosed with RA between 1955 and 2000. They analyzed this groups mortality rates until 2007 and compared the rates in ten year increments. The median follow up was 11.7 years during which 445 of the patients had died.

What they determined was that mortality rates for the RA group did not show any improvement during any lf the 10 year periods. The rate for women was 2.4 deaths per 100 people per year (100 person-years) and for men was 2.5 deaths per 100 person-years..

As a comparison, the rate for white women in Minnesota, location of the Mayo Clinic, decreased from 1 per 100 person-years in 1965 to .2 in 2000. Mortality for white men decreased from 1.2 in 1963 to .3 in 2000.

This indicates that the mortality rate in general for RA patients is 35% higher than the general population. And for women the rate was even higher, at 49%.

According to the report, the reasons for the increasing mortality gap are not clear. They did find that at least half of the deaths in the RA patients were cardiovascular related.

Although the study did have some limitations, such as the potential of missing patients who did not seek medical attention for their rheumatoid arthritis, the conclusion was that the advancements in treatment for the disease have not had a significant impact on extending the lifespan for RA patients.