LONG-TERM SURVIVAL IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS - PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH POORER OUTCOMES

Objective. To investigate the associations of age, sex, race, and soci oeconomic status with long-term survival in patients with systemic lup us erythematosus (SLE). Methods. We examined survival in an inception cohort of 408 patients with SLE. The cohort included 177 black females , 162 white females, 49 white males, and 20 black males. The median du ration of followup was 11 years (range 0.1-22 years). Results. One hun dred forty-four patients died during the study. The 5-, 10-, and 15-ye ar survival estimates for the entire cohort were 82%, 71%, and 63%, re spectively. In univariate analyses, mortality rates increased with age and were higher among males, blacks, those without private medical in surance, and those living in census tracts with lower household income s. In multivariate analyses, age, sex, and both socioeconomic indicato rs were associated with total mortality (mortality from any cause), wh ile race was not. Lower socioeconomic status and increased age were al so associated with higher rates of death from SLE. Conclusion. Socioec onomic status, but not race, is associated with mortality in SLE. SLE- related mortality also tends to increase with age, which suggests that SLE may not be less severe when it occurs later in life.