Spanish Study Finds Rise in Inflammatory Myopathy Admissions

TOPLINEHospitalisations for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies more than doubled over 28 years, with the increase limited to patients aged 60 years or older; however, in-hospital mortality remained stable and was primarily associated with older age, heart failure, cancer, or other coexisting conditions.METHODOLOGYResearchers conducted a retrospective, population-based study using national hospital discharge registries of Spain to assess trends in hospitalisation for idiopathic inflammatory myopathy between 1997 and 2024.The analysis included 34,228 admissions for true idiopathic inflammatory myopathy across the study period. A detailed analysis covered 15,481 admissions from 2016 to 2024 (mean patient age, 59 years; 63% women).Admissions were grouped as dermatomyositis or polymyositis (including paraneoplastic dermatomyositis), immune-mediated necrotising myopathy, or inclusion body myositis.Hospitalisation trends, comorbidity burden, autoimmune disease overlap, and in-hospital mortality were assessed, and factors associated with in-hospital mortality and ICU admission were identified.TAKEAWAYHospitalisation rates rose from 1.67 to 4.24 per 100,000 population per year, an increase seen only in patients aged 60 years or older and partly reflecting greater recognition of immune-mediated necrotising myopathy.Coexisting systemic autoimmune diseases were reported in 13.7% of admissions; systemic sclerosis (3.6%) and Sjögren syndrome (3.2%) were the most common. In-hospital mortality was 6.1% and remained stable over the 28 years.Patients aged 80 years or older had nearly eightfold higher odds of death than those younger than 50 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 7.97; P < .001). Heart failure, malignancy, dysphagia, interstitial lung disease, and chronic kidney disease were also independently associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality (P < .001 for all).Although patients aged 80 years or older had a higher risk for mortality, they had lower odds of ICU admission than those younger than 50 years (adjusted OR, 0.21; P < .001). ICU admission was most strongly associated with sepsis, acute respiratory failure, cardiac inflammation, and ischaemic heart disease (P < .001 for all).IN PRACTICE"Hospitalizations for IIM [idiopathic inflammatory myopathy] in Spain more than doubled over 28 years, the increase confined to patients aged ≥ 60 years and driven by the nosological recognition of IMNM [immune-mediated necrotising myopathy]," the authors of the study wrote.SOURCEThe study was led by Jorge Álvarez Troncoso, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain. It was published online on October 23, 2026, in Rheumatology.LIMITATIONSThe study included only hospitalised patients. Administrative coding may have led to misclassification. Patients who attended multiple hospitals might not have been distinguished.DISCLOSURESThe study did not receive any specific funding. The authors declared having no competing interests.This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.