Baseline characteristics of incident giant cell arteritis patients and disease-free controls.
| Characteristics | GCA, n = 103 | Controls, n = 606 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs, mean, median (range) | 74.8, 77 (51–91) | 74.7, 77 (51–91) | 0.97 |
| Women, n (%) | 80 (77.7) | 469 (77.4) | 0.95 |
| Followup, mean ± SD, mos | 48.9 ± 14.8 | 48.0 ± 13.1 | 0.56 |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 5 (4.9) | 90 (14.9) | 0.004 |
| Heart failure | 2 (1.9) | 15 (2.5) | 1.0 |
| Coronary artery disease | 4 (3.9) | 24 (4.0) | 1.0 |
| Peripheral artery disease | 0 | 15 (2.5) | 0.15 |
| Cardiac arrhythmia | 5 (4.9) | 53 (8.8) | 0.22 |
| Stroke | 0 | 8 (1.3) | 0.61 |
| Other cardiovascular disease | 1 (1.0) | 4 (0.7) | 0.54 |
| Medication use, n (%) | |||
| Platelet aggregation inhibitors | 19 (18.5) | 103 (17.0) | 0.72 |
| Aspirin | 16 (15.5) | 80 (13.2) | 0.52 |
| Statin | 28 (27.2) | 142 (23.4) | 0.41 |
| Antihypertensive drugs | 57 (55.3) | 303 (50.0) | 0.32 |
| ACE inhibitor | 11 (10.7) | 85 (14.0) | 0.36 |
| ARA II therapy | 22 (22.3) | 115 (19.0) | 0.43 |
| Other antihypertensive drugs | 29 (28.2) | 219 (36.1) | 0.12 |
| Antiarrhythmic drugs | 5 (4.9) | 51 (8.4) | 0.22 |
| Antithrombotic agents | 3 (2.9) | 47 (7.8) | 0.09 |
GCA: giant cell arteritis; ACE: angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARA: angiotensin receptor antagonists.