Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ioannidis, J. P. A.
Right arrow Articles by Moutsopoulos, H. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ioannidis, J. P. A.
Right arrow Articles by Moutsopoulos, H. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Autoimmunity
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Rheumatology 2003; 42: 357-361
© 2003 British Society for Rheumatology

Evaluation of the association of autoantibodies with mortality in the very elderly: a cohort study

J. P. A. Ioannidis1,3,, G. E. Katsifis2, E. D. Stavropoulos2, M. N. Manoussakis2 and H. M. Moutsopoulos2

1 Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina,
2 Department of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, National University of Athens, Athens, Greece and
3 Division of Clinical Care Research, Department of Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, USA

Objective. To evaluate whether autoantibodies in the absence of rheumatic diseases increase the risk of mortality among very elderly subjects who are otherwise in good functional condition.

Methods. Autoantibodies were measured in 1987 in 156 elderly nursing home residents (median age 84 yr) who were followed subsequently over 14.6 yr.

Results. Eleven subjects had anticardiolipin antibodies, 30 had rheumatoid factor and 19 had antibodies to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Other autoantibodies were more rare. During follow-up, 144 subjects died. Adjusting for age as a time-dependent covariate, the hazard ratio for death was 0.71 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38–1.32] for anticardiolipin antibodies, 0.93 (95% CI 0.60–1.41) for rheumatoid factor, 1.08 (95% CI 0.65–1.79) for antibodies to ssDNA, and 0.99 (95% CI, 0.70–1.41) for any autoantibody. Hazard ratios were similar when adjusted also for sex and clinical conditions.

Conclusion. Our results exclude the possibility that the autoantibodies evaluated increase substantially the risk of death among very elderly subjects in good functional condition.

KEY WORDS: Autoantibodies, Mortality, Elderly, Anticardiolipin antibodies, Rheumatoid factor.

Correspondence to: J. P. A. Ioannidis, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina 45110, Greece. E-mail: jioznnid{at}cc.uoi.gr


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.