Bower H, Frisell T, Giuseppe DD, et al. - In patients with inflammatory joint diseases (IJDs) and on antirheumatic therapies, this study was undertaken to assess absolute and relative risks for all-cause mortality and for severe COVID-19. Researchers selected all adult patients in Swedish nationwide multi registers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n=53,455 in March 2020), other IJDs (spondyloarthropathies, psoriatic arthritis, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, n=57,112), their antirheumatic drug use, and individually matched population referents. Annual all-cause mortality March–September 2015 through 2020 was compared within and across cohorts, and absolute and relative risks for hospitalization, admission to intensive care, and death due to COVID-19 March–September 2020, were evaluated using Cox regression. Among patients with IJDs, risks of severe COVID-19-related outcomes were elevated, but increases in risk were also seen for non-COVID-19 morbidity. The data exhibited that overall absolute and excess risks are low and the degree of risk increases are largely in line with what is seen in the general population and explained by comorbidities. The outcomes demonstrate that antirheumatic drugs do not have a major impact on these risks.