Mortality risk is significantly increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have chronic lung diseases (CLD), a recent study found. This risk is attributable not only to interstitial lung disease (ILD) but also to other chronic lung conditions. Therefore, comorbid lung disease should be targeted as a means of improving long-term outcomes in RA. Among participants in the Veterans Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis (VARA) Registry, a prospective cohort of US veterans with RA, researchers identified CLD and cardiovascular disease (CVD) using administrative and registry data. Demographics, smoking status, RA characteristics (including Disease Activity Score [DAS28]), and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) use were obtained from registry data, which were linked to the National Death Index to obtain vital status. They found:

• Among a large (n=2,053), male-predominant (91%) RA cohort, 554 (27%) had CLD at enrollment.
• Mortality risk was increased 1.51-fold in RA patients with CLD after multivariable adjustment, a risk that was similar to that observed with CVD (HR CLD alone 1.46; CVD alone 1.62).
• Survival was significantly reduced in those with ILD as well as other forms of CLD.