Mortality and Causes of Death in Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND: The best way to obtain knowledge about the natural history, including mortality, of ulcerative colitis (UC) is to conduct a longitudinal, population-based, prospective study. The aims of this study were to calculate the mortality rates and causes of death in patients with UC. METHODS: A prospective, population-based, longitudinal cohort study was conducted in South-Eastern Norway. A total of 519 patients (51.4% men) with UC were included over a 4-year period. A gastroenterologist from a university hospital reviewed the clinical information of all of the patients. Mortality data were retrieved from the Cause of Death Registry and from Statistics Norway. RESULTS: No statistically significant increases in total mortality or cause-specific mortality between the patients with UC and the controls were found. CONCLUSIONS: The present 20-year population-based cohort study revealed a good prognosis regarding the mortality, which partially might be explained by the patients' coverage by a generally well-functioning health care system.