Nocerino A, et al. – Via analysis of New York state death records, researchers assessed the overall, premature, and cause-specific mortality of patients with inflammatory bowel disease over a 17-year time period and examined any differences since the introduction of biologic therapy. Included in the analysis were data from patients with IBD (Crohn’s disease [CD], n=1,129; ulcerative colitis [UC], n=841) who passed away in New York from 1993 to 2010, as well as individuals without IBD who passed away during the same time period (control group; matched based on sex and zip code). They noted that those with UC and CD were more likely to die of a gastrointestinal etiology, and those with CD were more likely to die prematurely. In this IBD population after the availability of anti-TNF therapy, no significant difference was found in the premature death, the average age of death, and cause of death.