Poster Session : PS 0759 ; Rheumatology ; Epidemiology of Polymyalgia Rheumatica = Poster Session : PS 0759 ; Rheumatology ; Epidemiology of Polymyalgia Rheumatica

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Background: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a chronic infi ammatory disease affecting people older than 50 years of age. The diagnosis is made based on clinical features, and the current standard of treatment is low-dose glucocorticoids. PMR is more commonly reported in Caucasians and females. However, epidemiological studies in Asia are scarce, and no such studies have been conducted in Korea. We estimated incidence and prevalence of PMR in Korea. Methods: This study was conducted by reviewing National Health Insurance and Health Insurance Review and Assessment databases. We verifi ed all claims data for population aged over 50 years between 2007 and 2012. PMR cases were defi ned by diagnostic and prescription codes. Cases were included when the PMR ICD-10 code (M 35. 3) was recorded more than twice, and glucocorticoids were prescribed for more than 30 days. Results: We identifi ed 1,463 newly diagnosed cases of PMR during the 5 years. Among them, 992 (67. 8%) were female, and mean age at diagnosis was 66. 9 years old. Thesex and age adjusted annual incidence rate was estimated to be 2. 06 per 100,000 individuals aged over 50 years. The prevalence rate was 8. 21 per 100,000 individuals in 2012. Incidence and prevalence appeared to increase with age, peaking at about 70 years old. Prednisolone was the most commonly prescribed glucocorticoid. In half of the patients, the starting dose was 5-15 mg daily. Of the 1,453 PMR cases, only 1. 2% had a diagnostic code for giant cell arteritis simultaneously. Conclusions: This is the fi rst study to investigate the epidemiology of PMR in Korea. The incidence and prevalence of PMR appeared to be considerably lower than those in Western populations. Both genetic and environmental factors might infi uence disease occurrence. The actual incidence may have been underestimated due to a lack of awareness of PMR in clinical practice.