Therkildsen P, de Thurah A, Nielsen BD, et al. - In giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients, the risk of developing thoracic aortic aneurysms (AA) and aortic dissections (AD) was markedly elevated but these patients did not exhibit an increased risk of abdominal AA.

• This nationwide, population-based cohort study using the Danish national health registry included 9,908 GCA patients and 98 204 referents.

• In the GCA cohort, the estimated 15-year cumulative incidence proportions of thoracic AA, abdominal AA, AD, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) were 1.9%, 1.8%, 1.0%, and 4.8%.

• Relative to the referents, the 15-year relative risks were 11.2, 6.86, 1.04, and 1.53 for thoracic AA, AD, abdominal AA, and PAD, respectively.

• Following were the risk factors for developing thoracic AA in GCA cases: female gender, age below 70 years, and positive temporal artery findings.

• As noted, 7.5 years (IQR: 4.4–11.2) was the median time to thoracic AA, with a number required to screen of 250 (167–333), 91 (71–111), and 53 (45–67) following 5, 10, and 15 years.