The incidence of giant cell arteritis in Olmsted County, Minnesota, over a 60-year period 1950–2009

Abstract

Objective: To assess the incidence of giant cell arteritis (GCA) in the era from 2000 to 2009.

Method: We extended the previously identified population-based cohort of Olmsted County, Minnesota residents who fulfilled 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for GCA for earlier decades during 1950–1999.

Results: In 2000–2009, 74 cases of GCA were identified (mean age 78.1 years; 80% women; 79% temporal artery biopsy positive; seven included based on radiological criteria). The incidence of GCA was 19.8 per 100 000 population.

Conclusions: The GCA incidence rates have remained steady since 1970 and the age at incidence, which was progressively increasing, seems to have reached a plateau.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number R01AG034676. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.