Patients diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis have dimmer prospects for survival than the general population, particularly if diagnosed after the age of 60, according to the largest Australian study to date.

Analysis of a cohort of 413 patients from nine tertiary liver centres found 30% required liver transplant or died at a median time from diagnosis of 13 years.

The median age of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) diagnosis was 37 years and even at that age patients fared poorly compared with general population peers, the study authors said.

Patients had comparable survival to the general population at time of diagnosis but there was a trend towards reduced relative survival with increased time after diagnosis.