[Cause of Death in Autopsied RA Patients]

A mortality study was performed based on the data of Annual of the Pathological Autopsy Cases in Japan in 1985-1989. The average life span of the RA patients, revealing 66.5 years in male and 64.6 years in female, was shorter than that of general population in Japan. Of 1,246 autopsied RA cases, the most common causes of death were infections (26.6%), respiratory diseases including interstitial lung disease (17.5%) and amyloidosis (12.5%). Amyloidosis was common among RA cases (25.2%), and it was suggested that RA was the most important underlying disorder of the secondary amyloidosis: in 1985 to 1989, 316 cases of 515 secondary amyloidosis (61.4%) were associated with RA.