Polymyalgia rheumatica following infective triggers or vaccinations: a different subset of disease?

OBJECTIVES: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is the commonest inflammatory disorder of the elderly; an association with environmental triggers and a deregulated immune response have been described. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of environmental triggers before the onset of PMR.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The database of 58 consecutive PMR patients recruited from a single rheumatology secondary care setting was retrospectively analyzed to investigate the frequency of environmental triggers and correlations with clinical characteristics, ultrasound and laboratory data.

RESULTS: Fifteen PMR patients (26%) described a connection with environmental agents: six PMR patients reported a vaccination, 4 reported a respiratory tract infection, 5 reported seasonal influenza before the onset of the disease. The model of multivariate linear regression which better predicted a shorter time to normalize inflammatory reactants ( R 2 = 27.46%, p = 0.0042) comprised the presence of an environmental trigger and a higher PCR. A linear regression analysis confirmed an inverse correlation between PCR at onset and time to normalize inflammatory reactant ( r = -0.3031, p = 0.0208). A significant correlation was demonstrated between presence of environmental trigger and shorter time to normalize inflammation ( r = -0.5215, p < 0.0001), and lesser frequency of gleno-humeral synovitis on US ( r = -0.3774, p = 0.0038).

CONCLUSIONS: Our work describes a correlation between environmental triggers in PMR and higher CRP at diagnosis, faster response to therapy, and milder shoulder synovitis. We may suppose that these patients belong to a more specific subtype of PMR, in whom external stimuli, such as vaccination or infection, may lead to a deregulated response within the context of an impaired senescent immuno-endocrine system.