CD4 and diabetes mellitus: The mortality of anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients was higher than that in other rheumatic diseases (83.3% vs 38.9% P = 0.016), as shown in Fig. 2C and D. We identified age, CD4+ T cell counts, and MDA5+ DM as risk factors for 3-month mortality at P < 0.10 by univariate analysis.