Complications, Risk Factors, And Causes Of Temporal Arteritis

Age Of Individual

One of the biggest increased risk factors of temporal arteritis is the age of an individual. Temporal arteritis affects approximately twenty-four in every 100,000 individuals who are past their fifth decade of life. In the United States, over 110,000 individuals are affected by this disease, with an average onset around age seventy. Temporal arteritis development is rarely seen in individuals younger than fifty years old. The occurrence of this disease increases as an individual's age increases, with a peak between the seventh and eighth decade of life. Temporal arteritis is the most prevalent form of systemic vasculitis that affects elderly patients. While the exact reasons why this age group is primarily affected are not clear, it is known to have to do with the body's abnormal and maladaptive response to injury that occurs in the lining of the blood vessels (endothelium). This endothelial injury can be caused by oxidative stress, viral or bacterial infection, hypoxia, turbulent blood flow, tobacco use, hyperlipidemia, and high blood pressure. All of these types of endothelial injuries are more likely to occur and accumulate as individuals advance in age.