Demographic and clinical characteristics at diagnosis of the 92 PMR patients studied
| Female/male (%) | 75/25 |
| Age at onset of disease (y) | 72 (7) |
| Duration of disease before diagnosis (months) | 2.9 (1.5) |
| Duration of treatment (months) | 31 (23) |
| Duration of follow up (months) | 44 (27) |
| Systemic symptoms and signs (fever, anorexia, weight loss) | 49% (45) |
| Morning stiffness (min) | 160 (60) |
| Peripheral synovitis | 23.9% (22) |
| Distal swelling with pitting oedema | 8.7% (8) |
| Biopsy confirmed GCA | 6.5% (6) |
| Initial prednisone dose (mg/day) | 19.5 (11.0) |
| Cumulative prednisone dose (g) | 6.5 (4.8) |
| Cumulative prednisone dose before the first relapse/recurrence (g)* | 3.6 (3.1) |
| ESR at diagnosis (mm/1st h) | 77 (29) |
| CRP at diagnosis (mg/dl) | 6.1 (4.1) |
| ESR <30 mm/1st h at diagnosis (%) | 7.6% (7) |
| Relapse/recurrence (%) | 44% (40) |
Data are expressed as percentage or mean (SD). *The dose was computed only for the 40 patients with at least one relapse/recurrence.