Key clinical point: The crude mortality rate increased by two-fold in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic era, with pulmonary reasons being the major risk factors for mortality.
Major finding: Although standard mortality rates were similar between patients with PsA and the general population during the pre-pandemic period ( 0.95; 95% CI 0.61-1.49), the crude mortality rate, which was 5.07 before the pandemic, increased by 2.12-fold during the pandemic in the PsA population. Interestingly, deaths due to pulmonary reasons increased from 6% during the pre-pandemic era to 66% during the pandemic.
Study details : Findings are from an international multicenter registry study including 1216 patients with PsA who were followed up for 7500 patient-years.
Disclosures: This study did not report the source of funding. Some authors declared receiving honoraria or research grants from several sources.
Source: Erden A et al. Mortality in psoriatic arthritis patients, changes over time, and the impact of COVID-19: Results from a multicenter Psoriatic Arthritis Registry (PsART-ID). Clin Rheumatol. 2023;42(2):385-390(Jan 13). Doi: 10.1007/s10067-022-06492-6