There was no significant difference in sex distribution, prevalence of hypertension, use of antihypertensive drugs, systolic and diastolic BP, smoking status, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, BMI, hemoglobin, ESR, CRP, prevalence of pulmonary artery involvement and aortic regurgitation, and use of glucocorticoids, aspirin, and statins at the index date. Here, CRP is linked to aortic valve insufficiency.