Type 2 Diabetes and Higher BMI linked to Lower Risk of Giant Cell Arteritis: Study

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-05-22T09:00:39+05:30 | Updated On 22 May 2025 10:45 AM IST

A new study published in the journal of Rheumatology revealed that individuals with type 2 diabetes and higher body mass index (BMI) may have a reduced risk of developing giant cell arteritis (GCA). Specifically, the presence of type 2 diabetes was associated with a 25% lower risk, while a higher BMI correlated with a 36% lower risk of GCA.

Risk factors for giant cell arteritis (GCA) are not clearly characterized, with the exception of advanced age, female sex, and northern European ancestry. The relationship between GCA and conventional cardiovascular risk factors is not well understood. When GCA was linked to smoking, peripheral artery disease, and angina in 1989, it sparked a discussion concerning the connection between GCA and prevalent vascular disorders.

According to more recent research, smoking and GCA are related, and body mass index (BMI) and serum cholesterol have an inverse relationship with GCA. Therefore, by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational data, François Barde and team set out to analyzed the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and the beginning of GCA.

Medline, Web of Science, and Embase were the three databases that were thoroughly examined. Eligible were epidemiological studies that examined the relationship between the risk of GCA and six cardiovascular risk factors: smoking, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, overweight/obesity, and a history of cardiovascular disease. The ROBINS-E scale was used to measure the risk of bias.

Out of the 4210 references found by the search technique, 43 studies were examined, and 17 of them (11 case-control studies, 4 cohort studies, and 2 cross-sectional studies) were included in the meta-analysis.

Type 2 diabetes was shown to be negatively linked with GCA risk, while cardiovascular disease history was favorably associated with GCA risk. Furthermore, the study found that participants who were overweight had a trend toward a lower risk of GCA.

Overall, this study found that the risk of GCA was positively correlated with a history of cardiovascular disease and negatively correlated with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, a tendency toward a negative correlation between overweight and GCA risk was found.

Reference:

Barde, F., Pacoureau, L., Elbaz, A., Seror, R., & Nguyen, Y. (2025). Association between cardiovascular risk factors and the occurrence of giant cell arteritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Rheumatology (Oxford, England). https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keaf164

Rheumatology journalgiant cell arteritistype 2 diabetes

Source : Rheumatology

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751