title: Epidemiology of polymyalgia rheumatica in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1970-1991.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the incidence, prevalence, and survival of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) over a 22-year period in Olmsted County, Minnesota.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the unified record system at the Mayo Clinic for the Olmsted County population, we reviewed all medical records with a diagnosis of PMR from 1970 through 1991.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 245 (173 female; 72 male) incidence cases of PMR between 1970 and 1991. The average annual age- and sex-adjusted incidence of PMR per 100,000 population > or = 50 years was 52.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 45.9-59.2), with a significantly higher incidence in females (61.7; 95% CI 52.3-71.2) than in males (39.9; 95% CI 30.7-49.2). The incidence varied over the period of observation, but no significant trends were found. The prevalence of PMR among persons > or = 50 years on January 1, 1992 was 6/1,000. There was a small but significantly increased survival rate among male PMR patients compared with the general population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data demonstrate that PMR is a common nonfatal disease in the elderly, the incidence and clinical manifestations of which have varied but remained relatively stable over the last 2 decades.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salvarani
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: O'Fallon
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Hunder
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D011111:Polymyalgia Rheumatica / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate