Trends in Excess Mortality Among Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Ontario, Canada

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate excess mortality over time, comparing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with the general population. METHODS: We computed all-cause mortality rates among Ontario residents age ≥15 years with RA versus without RA from 1996 to 2009. Age- and sex-standardized mortality rates were expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 population. Excess mortality rates were calculated as the difference between death rates among RA …