Unlabelled: Patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) suffer an increased burden of comorbidities, but data on mortality in recently diagnosed IIM are conflicting. Also, little is known when, if ever, in relation to IIM diagnosis, mortality is increased.
Methods: A population-based IIM cohort of patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2011 and general population comparators were identified using healthcare registers.
Objective: To utilise an exposed/unexposed cohort strategy for mortality and cancer analyses across unselected and complete cohorts of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) resident in south-east Norway (denominator population 2.6 million), between 2003 and 2012.
Method: IIM cases were identified by comprehensive searches through patient administrative databases followed by manual chart review.
Background: Myositis-specific antibodies (MSA) are autoantibodies that are almost exclusively detected in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). This article provides an overview of these autoantibodies and how they can be used clinically to identify subgroups of IIM.
Material And Methods: The article is based on a non-systematic literature review and our own experience.