Burden of incident cardiovascular events in giant cell arteritis using data from a nationwide French cohort.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is one of the most common adult vasculitis. As large-scale studies on cardiovascular events in GCA are missing in France, our study examine their incidence using the French national medico-administrative health database. We included patients hospitalized for GCA between January 2013 and December 2022 who received an initial prescription of corticosteroids ≥ 1000 mg over 40 days within one year of the hospitalization. Each patient was matched with three controls by age, sex, and residence. Cardiovascular events and mortality were compared using a multivariate Cox model, adjusting for hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, sleep apnoea syndrome, chronic kidney disease, and prior cardiovascular conditions. A total of 12,955 GCA patients (67% female) and 33,685 controls were analyzed. Baseline cardiovascular risk factors were more prevalent in patients with GCA. Patients with GCA had a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.21 [1.15-1.27]), and major cardiovascular events (1.51 [1.41-1.62]), including myocardial infarction (1.58 [1.36-1.85]), stroke (1.29 [1.14-1.47]), and heart failure (1.41 [1.30-1.52]). A better screening and management of cardiovascular factors could improve overall outcomes in GCA patients. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of treatment strategies, and to better identify at-risk patients.