Trends in mortality from lupus in Spain from 1980 to 2018

Background Recent studies suggest that Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) mortality rates in Spain are decreasing. However, SLE mortality in Spain has been poorly studied. The purpose of study is to assess the temporal trends of mortality rates in the Spanish population with SLE from 1980 to 2018. Methods Death records and mid-year population data were collected from the National Statistics Institute. Age-standardized mortality rates were calculated for overall population and for each sex and age group. Significant changes in mortality trends were identified by Joinpoint regressions. Also, an Age-period-cohort (APC) and Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) analysis was carried out to know the burden of SLE disease. Results The overall SLE mortality rates in Spain has experimented an increased through the last 39 years. Mortality rates from the period 1980-1984 was 0.83 per 1.000.000 inhabitants, reaching the value to 1.77 cases per 1.000.000 from the period 2014-2018. A decreasing trend has been observed since 1999. Conclusions SLE mortality rate has increased in Spain between 1980 and 1999, with a sustained decrease up to our days.