Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study cohort
| Measurement | Disease exposure group | ||
| GCA (n = 1141) | Osteoarthritis (n = 172 953) | Unaffected controls (n = 200 000) | |
| Duration of follow up (person-years) | 3 061 | 434 025 | 640 637 |
| Age (years) | 75.2 (6.5) | 74.9 (6.8) | 74.7 (7.0) |
| Men | 463 (41%) | 67 429 (39%) | 82 574 (41%) |
| Cancer | 33 (3%) | 3180 (2%) | 3474 (2%) |
| Medication | |||
| Antihyperglycaemic drug | 187 (16%) | 21 046 (12%) | 22 313 (11%) |
| Oestrogen | 98 (9%) | 15 353 (9%) | 15 120 (8%) |
| Lipid lowering drug | 288 (25%) | 41 764 (24%) | 41 948 (21%) |
| Aspirin | 322 (28%) | 38 318 (22%) | 41 639 (21%) |
| Warfarin | 76 (7%) | 7 118 (4%) | 10 197 (5%) |
| NSAID | 386 (34%) | 84 872 (49%) | 74 226 (37%) |
| Prednisone or methylprednisone | 540 (47%) | 20 163 (12%) | 27 016 (14%) |
| Methotrexate | 12 (1%) | 125 (<1%) | 1 416 (<1%) |
| Azathioprine | 4 (<1%) | 254 (<1%) | 1 768 (<1%) |
Data are mean (SD) or number (%).
GCA, giant cell arteritis; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.