Table 1.
Characteristics of decedents in the Swedish Lupus Linkage (SLINK) population, Sweden, 2001-2013a
| Characteristics | SLE Deaths in SLINK | Non-SLE Deaths,b No. (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All, No. (%) | SLE Not Reported in Death Records, No. (%) | SLE Reported in Death Records, No. (%) | ||
| No. of deathsc | 1802 (100) | 1071 (59) | 731 (41) | 3308 (100) |
| Mean (SD) age at death, yd | 72 (13.5) | 73 (12.7) | 70 (14.4) | 77 (11.2) |
| Median (IQR) age at death, yd | 74 (65-82) | 75 (66-82) | 73 (63-81) | 79 (71-86) |
| Age at death, y | ||||
| <50 | 121 (7) | 59 (6) | 62 (8) | 68 (2) |
| 50-64 | 328 (18) | 184 (17) | 144 (20) | 361 (11) |
| 65-74 | 468 (26) | 282 (26) | 186 (25) | 673 (20) |
| 75-84 | 584 (32) | 342 (32) | 242 (33) | 1265 (38) |
| ≥85 | 301 (17) | 204 (19) | 97 (13) | 941 (28) |
| Year of diagnosis and matchingb | ||||
| 1971-1986 | 521 (29) | 305 (28) | 216 (30) | 811 (25) |
| 1987-2000 | 669 (37) | 378 (35) | 291 (40) | 1228 (37) |
| 2001-2005 | 434 (24) | 280 (26) | 154 (21) | 970 (29) |
| 2006-2013 | 178 (10) | 108 (10) | 70 (10) | 299 (9) |
| Year of death | ||||
| 2001-2005 | 614 (34) | 351 (33) | 263 (36) | 714 (22) |
| 2006-2013 | 1188 (66) | 720 (67) | 468 (64) | 2594 (78) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 340 (19) | 209 (20) | 131 (18) | 701 (21) |
| Female | 1462 (81) | 862 (80) | 600 (82) | 2607 (79) |
| Country of birth | ||||
| Nordicf | 1730 (96) | 1029 (96) | 701 (96) | 3164 (96) |
| Non-Nordic | 72 (4) | 42 (4) | 30 (4) | 144 (4) |
| Married at death | ||||
| Yes | 686 (38) | 395 (37) | 291 (40) | 1100 (33) |
| No | 1116 (62) | 676 (63) | 440 (60) | 2206 (67) |
| Missing | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (<1) |
| Region at death | ||||
| Stockholm | 307 (17) | 199 (19) | 108 (15) | 495 (15) |
| Middle | 354 (20) | 209 (20) | 145 (20) | 667 (20) |
| West | 354 (20) | 206 (19) | 148 (20) | 624 (19) |
| South | 268 (15) | 151 (14) | 117 (16) | 527 (16) |
| Southeast | 310 (17) | 183 (17) | 127 (17) | 601 (18) |
| North | 209 (12) | 123 (11) | 86 (12) | 394 (12) |
| Died in hospital | ||||
| Yes | 725 (40) | 416 (39) | 309 (42) | 1131 (34) |
| No | 509 (28) | 319 (30) | 190 (26) | 1433 (43) |
| Missing | 568 (32) | 336 (31) | 232 (32) | 744 (22) |
| Mean no. (SD) of causes of death | 5.2 (2.5) | 4.4 (2.2) | 6.3 (2.4) | 4.4 (2.1) |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.
b Non-SLE deaths refer to decedents from the general population comparators group in SLINK. The general population comparators group in SLINK comprises people without SLE who were matched 5:1 to SLE cases on birth year, sex, and county of residence at the time each case was diagnosed.
c SLE deaths refer to decedents who were diagnosed with SLE through International Classification of Diseases–coded visits in the National Patient Register before death.
d All values in parentheses are column percentages unless otherwise noted as SDs or IQRs.
e For SLE deaths in SLINK, this refers to the year during which they received their diagnosis using information from the National Patient Register. For non-SLE deaths, this refers to the year they were sampled from the general population and individually matched to a case with SLE in SLINK.
f Nordic countries include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.