Life expectancy and cause of death in individuals with haemophilia A and B in Norway, 1986-2018.

OBJECTIVES Evaluate trends over time in age- and cause of death in males with haemophilia (PWH) in Norway compared with the general male population, and investigate its correlates with improvements in haemophilia treatment. METHODS Data about age and cause of death in the period of 1986-2018, from two independent, high-quality national registries: the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry (NCoDR) and the patient registry at Centre for Rare Disorders (CRD), Oslo University Hospital. RESULTS Life expectancy increased significantly from 1986 to 2018. However, PWH still had a decreased mean age at death of 56.8 years (SD = 24.7) in the NCoDR and 58.6 years (SD = 21.7) in the CRD data, compared with 73.9 years (SD = 16.3) in the general male population. There was a distinct shift in the most frequently reported haemophilia-related causes of death, such as haemorrhage and AIDS, to more age-related causes of death, such as cancer, reflecting an aging population. CONCLUSION Haemophilia treatment has improved significantly in the last three decades. Despite treatment-related improvements, PWH in Norway still have a decreased life expectancy compared with the general male population.