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Incidence, Prevalence, and Survival of Biopsy‐Proven Giant Cell Arteritis in Northern Italy During a 26‐Year Period
Author(s) -
Catanoso Mariagrazia,
Macchioni Pierluigi,
Boiardi Luigi,
Muratore Francesco,
Restuccia Giovanna,
Cavazza Alberto,
Pipitone Nicolò,
Mancuso Pamela,
Luberto Ferdinando,
Salvarani Carlo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
arthritis care and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.032
H-Index - 163
eISSN - 2151-4658
pISSN - 2151-464X
DOI - 10.1002/acr.22942
Subject(s) - giant cell arteritis , medicine , incidence (geometry) , confidence interval , epidemiology , population , biopsy , mortality rate , arteritis , demography , pediatrics , surgery , vasculitis , disease , physics , sociology , optics , environmental health
Objective To investigate the epidemiology and mortality in patients with biopsy‐proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) in northern Italy. Methods All patients with incident temporal‐artery biopsy‐positive GCA, diagnosed between 1986 and 2012 and living in the Reggio Emilia area, were identified by using a pathology register and by reviewing all histopathologic specimens. For each patient, we identified 1 comparison subject from the same geographic area, matched for age and sex. Mortality rates and specific causes of death were reported. Results There were 285 incident cases of biopsy‐proven GCA (210 women) during the 26‐year study period. The overall age‐ and sex‐adjusted incidence per 100,000 persons ages ≥50 years was 5.8 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 5.1, 6.5). Incidence was significantly higher in women (7.8 [95% CI 6.7, 8.9]) than in men (3.3 [95% CI 2.6, 4.1]) ( P < 0.0001). Annual age‐ and sex‐adjusted incidence rates significantly increased by 15.9% per 3 years from 1986 to 2000, then significantly fell by −4.8% per 3 years from 2001–2012. The prevalence of GCA on December 31, 2012 was 87.9 (95% CI 75.8, 101.4). No significant differences in the mortality rates were observed between GCA patients (4.9 per 100 person‐years [95% CI 4.1, 5.8]) and non‐GCA subjects (5.6 [95% CI 4.7, 6.6]). No significant differences in causes of death were observed comparing GCA patients to non‐GCA subjects. Conclusion This large population‐based study of biopsy‐proven GCA confirmed the lower incidence of GCA in Mediterranean countries and did not observe any increased mortality risk.