Figure 2

Comparison of life expectancy for patients who were alive at the beginning of 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000, based on mortality in the subsequent five years (four years for the period 2000–2003). Curves are constructed by calculating the proportion of patients in each group who were alive at the time indicated and were still alive at the end of the next 5 years. For the four year interval 2000–2003, mortality was multiplied by 1.25 to adjust to 5 years. The calculation shows an average life-expectancy of 17 years in 1970, 27 years in 1980 and 37 years in 1990. Since 2000 over 80% of patients have a life expectancy of more than 40 years. It is still not possible to estimate ultimate life-expectancy, and the prognosis for older patients remains "open-ended".