Table 1.
Main characteristics of the cohort at diagnosis of GCA.
| Variable | n/Available data (%) |
|---|---|
| Age at diagnosis (years) | 72 [66–79] |
| Female | 186/254 (73.2 %) |
| Positive temporal artery biopsy | 167/248 (67.3 %) |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |
| Arterial hypertension | 108/254 (42.5 %) |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 59/254 (23.2 %) |
| Smoking (past included) | 37/254 (14.6 %) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 28/254 (11.0 %) |
| Obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) | 20/251 (8.0 %) |
| General symptoms | |
| Asthenia | 227/254 (89.4 %) |
| Weight loss | 115/251 (45.8 %) |
| Fever | 82/252 (32.5 %) |
| Cranial symptoms | |
| Headaches | 150/253 (59.3 %) |
| Temporal artery tenderness or swelling | 65/236 (27.5 %) |
| Jaw claudication | 68/253 (26.9 %) |
| Scalp tenderness | 58/252 (23.0 %) |
| Ophthalmological signs | 46/253 (18.2 %) |
| Other GCA-related symptoms | |
| Peripheral musculoskeletal manifestationa | 64/252 (26.4 %) |
| Polymyalgia rheumatica | 56/251 (22.3 %) |
| Cough | 48/249 (19.3 %) |
| Vascular events at diagnosis | |
| Aortic surgery | 10/251 (4.0 %) |
| Stroke | 6/252 (2.4 %) |
| Upper limb ischemia | 6/251 (2.4 %) |
| Lower limb ischemia | 4/250 (1.6 %) |
| Myocardial infarction | 1/251 (0.4 %) |
| Mesenteric ischemia | 1/251 (0.4 %) |
| Laboratory assessments | |
| CRP (mg/l) | 88 [55–140] |
| ESR (mm/h) | 80 [52–100] |
| Hb (g/dl) | 11.2 [10.2–12.3] |
| Platelets (g/l) | 401 [314–475] |
Data are expressed as median (IQR) and number/available data (percentage), n (%).
a
Peripheral musculoskeletal manifestations included peripheral arthritis/synovitis, polyarthritis/polyarthralgia, willingly with myalgia, rheumatoid arthritis meeting the ACR criteria in two cases (with positive temporal artery biopsy), extremity swelling with or without pitting edema, distal tenosynovitis.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; BMI, body mass index; CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; GCA, giant cell arteritis; IQR, interquartile range.