Identifying giant cell arteritis patients with higher risk of relapse and vascular events: a cluster analysis

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is one of the most common large vessel (LVV) vasculitis and is associated with a high risk of relapse and cardiovascular complications. Improving risk stratification remains a significant issue in this patient population. We aimed to perform a cluster analysis among GCA to identify clusters and evaluate their prognostic value.

In a multicenter cohort study, we performed hierarchical cluster analysis on the factor analysis of mixed data coordinates results with 283 GCA patients' characteristics to generate clusters and assess incidence of relapse, cardiovascular events and death.

Three clusters were identified: 'Vascular relapsing profile' (23.0%), 'Typical GCA profile' (47.7%) and 'Ophthalmologic elderly profile' (29.3%). The 'Vascular relapsing profile' cluster included younger patients with more frequent relapses and cardiovascular events, particularly thoracic aortic aneurysms. The 'Typical GCA profile' was the largest, with classic cranial manifestations and frequently associated polymyalgia rheumatica. The 'Ophthalmologic elderly profile' had the oldest patients with more visual loss and the highest mortality rate.

Our findings underline the varied prognostic landscape within GCA, emphasizing the poor cardiovascular prognosis of younger patients with LV involvement and the higher mortality among elderly patients. This reinforces the need for further research regarding the screening of aortic abnormalities and whether those patients might benefit from intensive treatment with biotherapy and cardiovascular risk factors management.