Giant-cell arteritis-related mortality in France: A multiple-cause-of-death analysis

Abstract

Objectives: Giant-cell arteritis (GCA) is a large vessel vasculitis. Data regarding mortality are controversial. We describe the mortality data of the French death certificates for the period of 2005 to 2014.

Methods: Using multiple-cause-of-death (MCOD) analysis, we calculated age-adjusted mortality rates for GCA, examined differences in mortality rates according to age and gender and analyzed the underlying causes of death (UCD).

Results: We analyzed 4628 death certificates listing a diagnosis of GCA as UCD or non-underlying cause of death (NUCD). The mean age of death was 86 (±6.8) years. The overall age-standardized mortality rate among GCA patients was 7.2 per million population. Throughout the study period, the mean age of death was significantly increased (r = 0.17, p < .0001) in both genders. There was no significant difference with age repartition of death in the general population (p = .26). When GCA was listed as the UCD, most frequent associated diseases were cardiovascular (79%) and infectious diseases (35%). When GCA was reported as the NUCD, the listed UCD was a cardiovascular event in 40% of cases, neoplasm in 13%, neurodegenerative disorder in 11% and infectious disease in 10%. When GCA was the UCD or NUCD, an age-adjusted observed/expected ratio > 1 in GCA-associated mortality compared with the general population mortality was observed for tuberculosis, pneumonia and cardiovascular diseases.

Conclusion: In this analysis of French death certificates mentioning GCA, we observed a stable standardized mortality rate between 2005 and 2014. The most frequent associated diseases were cardiovascular diseases and infections.

Keywords: Epidemiology.; Giant—cell arteritis; Mortality.