Comparison of clinical features between patients with young-onset and late-onset Takayasu’s arteritis

Abstract

Objective This study included patients diagnosed with Takayasu&apos;s arteritis (TAK) according to the 2022 American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology classification criteria for TAK and compared the frequencies of items satisfied in the 2022 criteria between patients with young-onset TAK (YOTAK) and those with late-onset TAK (LOTAK). Methods The medical records of 138 patients with TAK were retrospectively reviewed. YOTAK was arbitrarily defined as TAK diagnosed at 20–40 years of age, whereas LOTAK was defined as TAK classified at 41–60 years of age. The analyses were conducted by assessing and comparing the frequencies of items that fulfilled the 2022 criteria for TAK. Results The median age of the 138 patients diagnosed with TAK was 45.0 years, and 89.1% of the patients were female. Of the 138 patients, 47 and 91 were allocated to the YOTAK and LOTAK groups. Patients with LOTAK exhibited significantly higher frequencies of the items of vascular bruit (85.7% vs. 70.2%, OR 2.55 (95% CI 1.08–6.00), p=0.030), reduced pulse in upper extremities (73.6% vs. 42.6%, OR 3.77 (95% CI 1.79–7.92), p<0.001), and systolic blood pressure difference in arms (96.7% vs. 87.2%, OR 4.29 (95% CI 1.02–18.02), p=0.033) than those with YOTAK. Conversely, the involvement of the ascending aorta was significantly more frequently found in patients with YOTAK than those with LOTAK (19.1% vs. 7.7%, OR 0.35 (95% CI 0.12–0.99), p=0.046). Conclusion Results of this study revealed that patients with LOTAK exhibited higher frequencies of vascular bruit, reduced brachial arterial pulse, and systolic blood pressure differences in arms, but a lower frequency of ascending aorta involvement than those with YOTAK. © Copyright CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RHEUMATOLOGY 2026