Is PMR and GCA a first world thing?

[rick518]

Is there any data showing if PMR GCA is seen in some countries more than others?

[Hidden]

You might say that. At least one thing that is often discussed is that many have family antecedents from Scandinavia. In the USA there is a cluster in minnesota. But I read somewhere that there was a cluster of native Americans that had pmr gca too. We have had a couple of members from asian continent.

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

[Constance13 in reply to Hidden]

It makes you wonder what the poor people in Africa and other poor countries do when they get this pesky disease!! No doctors/rheumies within manageable distance there.

[Blearyeyed]

Many of these illnesses are more common in certain populations .

Like Scoops has said Scandinavian descent can often be a factor in the ancestry of many people in studies and on the forum.

However , I do remember some time back reading some research on GCA patients in India .

They interestingly had a start date up to 10 years younger than the norm in other countries , and had more incidents of negative biopsy with GCA.

So , although it may be more common in certain groups or countries , there is also the possibility that it isn't acknowledged or treated as often in other countries if there is less awareness. It Doctor's in a normal surgery do what they do in Developed Countries and look at the guidelines as White , Over 50 etc. and dismiss people's symptoms .

I was checked for Behcets initially , but that is often not spotted in non Mediterranean women because the guidelines state , Male rarely Female and predominantly Mediterranean / Turkish ancestry so it gets dismissed. Yet , at each clinic appointment the people in the waiting room were 3:1 Women and mainly White British , most of them were already undergoing treatment.

So , even if the data may not be present yet , it may not tell the whole story of a Disease in the Developing World.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi,

As already said - predominately Scandinavian decent , here’s my lighthearted look at what we know, and what we believe we know - healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Poppy1647]

I am of African descent & its one of the reasons they are querying the diagnosus of GCA. They say my ethnicity background & age is a stronger indicator that I may have been misdiagnosed. To me its a ridiculous reason as some illnesses are more common with certain populations but others can still be affected be it a lower percentage.

I have also been told its more common to North Europeans ( Scandinavian)

[Blearyeyed in reply to Poppy1647]

If you look at the research of African American and African Communities PMR / GCA is very rare. But , possible , it's good they are double checking everything for you too , but it doesn't mean you won't be proving them wrong by having it after all.

[Hidden in reply to Poppy1647]

More common doesn't mean confined to does it. I hope you get some diagnosis.

[misspops]

What about redheads? Are they more susceptible to the disease?

[Badpmr]

Hello, great question. Yes, in fact people of Scandinavian descent ( Norway, Sweden, Finland) are at much greater risk than other nationalities. Lucky us! Good luck with your journey and keep the questions coming. This is how we all learn and help each other.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

A family history of Scandinavian genes is a risk factor, the rate in African and Asian populations is very low compared to Caucasians in general. I did post a link some months ago I think with detailed figures but can't find it now.

This has some interesting comparative figures in the section from p165:

books.google.it/books?id=nw...

including that Ashkenazi Jews have GCA 3x more often than Sephardic Jews - and Arabs rarely develop it.

[rick518 in reply to PMRpro]

Interesting book link thanks. If only some one could tie all this data together and tell us why?

Then we could work out better how to deal with what we have!

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

Can't open either - either not available or have reached the viewing limit for the book.

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

Hmmm, maybe it's my Polish half which is responsible then?

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

There's this. But I don't think it's the one I read a while back. I can't get to read the text in the Google book link.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Shame - and it won't let me copy and paste text from it either. Bigger shame - it has some good comment in it about how GCA is managed.

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

I will see if it will let me.

[rick518]

I wonder if the rates are actually the same worldwide more or less except ..

Countries with a lower life expectancy have lower number of cases because many of the population die before it appears and reporting, knowledge and diagnosis varies from country to country.

[Hidden in reply to rick518]

Historically socially and culturally that could well be the case. I did read a review that did look at the rates in different countries a couple of years ago. I can't read pmrpros link so it could be connected to that book. I will have a think about where I may have saved it. Could e on a previous phones sd card.

[rick518 in reply to Hidden]

Try this

book name is Ischemic Optic Neuropathies

books.google.it/books?id=nw...

[Hidden in reply to rick518]

Thanks. Will take a while to read on a mobile!