Key clinical point: Depression significantly predicted death in patients with incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but with a strength similar to that in matched comparator individuals without RA.
Major finding: The risk for all-cause mortality was >3-fold higher (adjusted hazard rate ratio [aHRR] 3.15; 95% CI 2.62-3.79) in patients with RA with vs without depression, with the risk being higher among patients age < 55 years compared with other age groups (aHRR 8.13; 95% CI 3.89-17.02). In addition, depression predicted all-cause mortality with similar strength in comparator individuals without RA (aHRR 3.77; 95% CI 3.48-4.08).
Study details: This study included 11,071 patients with incident RA and 55,355 matched comparator individuals without RA from the general population.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Danish Rheumatism Association. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Pedersen JK et al. Mortality in patients with incident rheumatoid arthritis and depression: A Danish cohort study of 11,071 patients and 55,355 comparators. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 (May 30). doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead259