title: Venous Thromboembolism and Cerebrovascular Events in Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and cerebrovascular events in a community-based incidence cohort of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) compared to the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based inception cohort of patients with incident GCA between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 2009 in Olmsted County, Minnesota and a cohort of non-GCA subjects from the same population were assembled and followed until December 31, 2013. Confirmed VTE and cerebrovascular events were identified through direct medical record review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study population included 244 patients with GCA with a mean ± SD age at diagnosis of 76.2 ± 8.2 years (79% women) and an average length of follow-up of 10.2 ± 6.8 years. Compared to non-GCA subjects of similar age and sex, patients diagnosed with GCA had a higher incidence (%) of amaurosis fugax (cumulative incidence ± SE: 2.1 ± 0.9 versus 0, respectively; p = 0.014) but similar rates of stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and VTE. Among patients with GCA, neither baseline characteristics nor laboratory parameters at diagnosis reliably predicted risk of VTE or cerebrovascular events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this population-based study, the incidence of VTE, stroke and TIA was similar in patients with GCA compared to non-GCA subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina ME, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lo Gullo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Koster
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.|Department of Health Sciences Research, Division of Biomedical Statistics, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Cynthia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Crowson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ashima
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makol
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ytterberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina ME, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saitta
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera ASMN, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salvarani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.|Department of Health Sciences Research, Division of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Eric L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Matteson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Warrington
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D020757:Amaurosis Fugax / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology