SARCOIDOSIS MORTALITY IN THE UNITED-STATES, 1979-1991 - AN ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE-CAUSE MORTALITY DATA

PURPOSE: We sought to describe sarcoidosis mortality in the United Sta tes from 1979 through 1991. METHODS: We analyzed death certificate rep orts compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics for the per iod 1979 through 1991. RESULTS: Of the 26,866,600 people who died duri ng the study period, 9,014 had a diagnosis of sarcoidosis listed on th eir death certificates. We restricted our study group to 5,791 people who died because of sarcoidosis or one of its complications. Among men , age-adjusted mortality rates increased from 1.3 per 1,000,000 in 197 9 to 1.6 per 1,000,000 in 1991, and among women, these rates increased from 1.9 per 1,000,000 in 1979 to 2.5 per 1,000,000 in 1991. Age-adju sted mortality rates were consistently higher among blacks than among whites. Age-adjusted mortality rates, stratified by race, varied by st ate. Among whites, the highest rates were in northern states, while am ong blacks, the highest rates were in the Middle Atlantic and northern Midwestern states. CONCLUSIONS: Reported mortality due to sarcoidosis varies by region, sex, and race. We cannot determine whether these di fferences are related to characteristics of the disease, or problems i n death certification and coding.