Causes of death among patients with myasthenia gravis in Norway between 1951 and 2001.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
; 77(2): 203-7, 2006 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16421123
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This study investigated the causes of death among patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), with emphasis on respiratory tract and cardiac disease.METHODS:
The Norwegian Cause of Death Register contains information on all deaths among Norwegian citizens. In total, 249 deceased patients with MG were identified (1951-2001). These were compared with 1245 controls deceased in the same period and matched for sex and year of birth.RESULTS:
The death certificates of patients with MG had a significantly higher occurrence of respiratory tract disease as cause of death than controls (28.1% v 20.9%, p = 0.012). The difference was most pronounced for male patients, for patients dying between 30 and 69 years of age, and for deaths occurring before 1996. For cardiac disease there was a significantly lower occurrence among patients with MG than among controls at 50-69 years of age, for both men (19.4% v 52.0%, p = 0.001) and women (14.6% v 29.6%, p = 0.036). Age and year of death were important determinants for the causes of death, but could not account for the differences between the patients with MG and controls.CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that patients with MG dying between 1951 and 1995 had a higher occurrence of respiratory tract disease listed as cause of death than had a matched control group. The lack of difference after 1995 probably reflects improved treatment of MG and its complications. The reduced occurrence of cardiac disease among patients with MG is probably explained by competing factors (respiratory tract disease) causing death.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Causas de Morte
/
Miastenia Gravis
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2006
Tipo de documento:
Article