Comorbidities in multiple myeloma and implications on survival: A population-based study.

• Published in: European Journal of Haematology
• Main Authors: Sverrisdóttir, Ingigerður S, Rögnvaldsson, Sölvi, Thorsteinsdottir, Sigrún, Gíslason, Gauti K, Aspelund, Thor, Turesson, Ingemar, Björkholm, Magnus, Gregersen, Henrik, Hveding Blimark, Cecilie, Landgren, Ola, Kristinsson, Sigurður Y
• Other Authors: 1Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. 2University Hospital Malmö, Malmö, Sweden. 3Division of Haematology, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 4Department of Haematology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark. 5Department of Haematology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Institution of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. 6Myeloma Program, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. 7Department of Haematology, Landspitali National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2021
• Subjects: comorbidities; multiple myeloma; survival; Comorbidity; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/621764; https://doi.org/10.1111/ejh.13597

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink below High proportion of patients with multiple myeloma suffer from comorbidities which may alter clinical management. Therefore, our aims were to evaluate the prevalence of comorbidities and their impact on survival. We included patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma 1990-2013 in Sweden and all diagnoses from each patient from 1985. A total of 13 656 patients with multiple myeloma were included in the study, thereof 7404 (54%) had comorbidity at diagnosis. The risk of death was increased for those with one comorbidity at diagnosis compared to those without any comorbidity (hazard ratio = 1.19; 95% confidence interval:1.14-1.25); this risk was higher for those with two (1.38; 1.30-1.47) and three or more comorbidities (1.72; 1.62-1.83). Furthermore, the risk of death was increased in patients with prior history of cancer, arrhythmia, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, chronic lung disease, psychological disease, peptic ulcer, neurological disease, peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, dementia, and inflammatory bowel disease. This large study shows that over 50% of multiple myeloma patients have a comorbidity at diagnosis and survival decreased with increasing numbers of comorbidities. This emphasizes the importance of comorbidities when evaluating patients and deciding on treatment strategies for individuals with multiple myeloma. Keywords: comorbidities; multiple myeloma; survival. Research Fund of Landspitali, University Hospital of Iceland, The Nordic Cancer Union Icelandic Centre for Research