Patients with giant cell arteritis have a lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients who are recently diagnosed with giant cell arteritis (GCA) with age- and sex-matched controls. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies that (1) consisted of GCA cohort and non-GCA cohort that was randomly selected from the same population and (2) provided prevalences of DM at the time of diagnosis for patients with GCA and at the index date for controls. Pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effect, Mantel-Haenszel analysis. Results: Five studies with 903 patients with GCA and 1064 controls were identified and included in our data analysis. We demonstrated a statistically significant lower prevalence of DM among patients with GCA with the pooled OR of 0.74 (95% CI, 0.57-0.97). Conclusion: At diagnosis, patients with GCA had a lower prevalence of DM. Whether DM could be a protective factor against the development of GCA needs further investigations.