Skip Navigation


Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on June 19, 2009
Rheumatology 2009 48(8):1008-1011; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep153
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
48/8/1008    most recent
kep153v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Watts, R.
Right arrow Articles by MacGregor, A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Watts, R.
Right arrow Articles by MacGregor, A.
Related Collections
Right arrow Vasculitis
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The epidemiology of Takayasu arteritis in the UK

Richard Watts1, Abdullah Al-Taiar1,2, Janice Mooney3, David Scott4 and Alex MacGregor1

1Health and Social Sciences Research Institute, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, 2Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait, 3School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of East Anglia and 4Department of Rheumatology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, Norwich, UK.

Correspondence to: Richard Watts, Health and Social Sciences Research Institute, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. E-mail: richard.watts{at}ipswichhospital.nhs.uk


  Abstract

Objectives. Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a large-vessel vasculitis of unknown aetiology. The annual incidence in hospital-based studies is 1–2/million. The UK General Practice Research Database (UKGPRD) contains complete primary care records on 3.6 million people. There are no data on the incidence of TAK in the UK or from primary care anywhere in the world. The aim of this study was to determine the annual incidence of TAK in the UK using the UKGPRD and in a well-defined hospital population [Norfolk Vasculitis Register (NORVASC)].

Methods. We identified all patients in the UKGPRD with a first diagnosis of TAK during 2000–05, using the Read code (G757); and in the NORVASC population. The annual incidence was calculated as the number of incident cases divided by total person-years.

Results. A total of 14 (13 females) subjects were identified with a first diagnosis of TAK during 2000–05 in the UKGPRD. The median age was 51.0 years (interquartile range 28–66). The overall annual incidence of TAK was 0.8/million (95% CI 0.4, 1.3). The incidence was stable throughout the study period. The mean prevalence of TAK was 4.7/million. There were six patients (five females) aged <40 years presenting in 2000–05 with TAK. The annual incidence in those aged <40 years was 0.3/million. In the NORVASC population, one case was identified (0.4/million/year) with three prevalent cases (7.1/million).

Conclusion. This is the first population-based study of the epidemiology of TAK. The annual incidence and prevalence are consistent with previous studies.

KEY WORDS: Takayasu arteritis, Epidemiology, Vasculitis

Submitted 21 November 2008; revised version accepted 14 May 2009.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.