Evaluation of the association of autoantibodies with mortality in the very elderly: a cohort study.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether autoantibodies in the absence of rheumatic diseases increase the risk of mortality among very elderly subjects who are otherwise in good functional condition. METHODS: Autoantibodies were measured in 1987 in 156 elderly nursing home residents (median age 84 yr) who were followed subsequently over 14.6 yr. RESULTS: Eleven subjects had anticardiolipin antibodies, 30 had rheumatoid factor and 19 had antibodies to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Other autoantibodies were more rare. During follow-up, 144 subjects died. Adjusting for age as a time-dependent covariate, the hazard ratio for death was 0.71 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-1.32] for anticardiolipin antibodies, 0.93 (95% CI 0.60-1.41) for rheumatoid factor, 1.08 (95% CI 0.65-1.79) for antibodies to ssDNA, and 0.99 (95% CI, 0.70-1.41) for any autoantibody. Hazard ratios were similar when adjusted also for sex and clinical conditions. CONCLUSION: Our results exclude the possibility that the autoantibodies evaluated increase substantially the risk of death among very elderly subjects in good functional condition.