Table I.
Demographic, laboratory, and ultrasonographic characteristics of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica, and subgroups with or without environmental trigger before disease onset
| Characteristics | Total | PMR with trigger | PMR without trigger | p (test) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PMR patients (females/males) | 58 (35/23) | 15 (9/6) | 43 (26/17) | 0.99 – ns (two-sided Fisher’s exact test ) |
| Age, years (range) SD |
71 (63–89) 7.16 |
74.6 (66–86) 6.98 |
70.8 (63–89) SD 6.81 |
0.0697 – ns (unpaired t-test) |
| Mean ESR at onset (range) SD |
51 mm/h (6–99) 21.18 |
59 mm/h (24–83) SD 19.51 |
49 mm/h (6–99) SD 21.01 |
0.1119 – ns (unpaired t-test) |
| Mean CRP at onset (range) SD |
3 mg/dl (0.5–11.3) 5.94 |
6.8 mg/dl (2.3–11.3) 2.62 |
2.4 mg/dl (0.5–7.8) 6.29 |
0.0113* (unpaired t-test) |
| Disease duration, months SD |
6.9 2.72 |
4.8 1.27 |
7.6 2.82 |
0.0005** (unpaired t-test) |
| GC dependence (see text for definition) |
25/58 | 10/15 | 15/43 | 0.0398* (two-sided Fisher’s exact test) |
| US mean score shoulder: GH (range) SD |
0.7 (0–2) 0.86 |
0.1 (0–1) SD 0.4 |
0.9 (0–2) 0.92 |
0.0018** (unpaired t-test) |
| US mean score shoulder: SA-SD (range) SD |
1.3 (0–2) 0.87 |
1.1 (0–2) SD 0.91 |
1.4 (0–2) 0.84 |
0.2410 – ns (unpaired t-test) |
| US mean score shoulder: LHBT (range) SD |
1.2 (0–2) 0.83 |
0.8 (0–2) SD 0.71 |
1.3 (0–2) 0.91 |
0.0561 – ns (unpaired t-test) |
| US mean score hip (range) SD |
0.4 (0–2) 0.82 |
0.2 (0–2) SD 0.70 |
0.6 (0–2) 0.93 |
0.1805 – ns (unpaired t-test) |
CRP – C-reactive protein, ESR – erythrocytesedimentationrate, GC – glucocorticoids, GH – gleno-humeral joint, LHBT – longhead of biceps tendon, PMR – polymyalgiarheumatica, SA-SD – subacromial-subdeltoid bursa, SD – standard deviation, US – ultrasound, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, ns – not significant.