Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, beyond inclusion body myositis (IBM), have demonstrated an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, particularly myocardial infarction (MI). This study evaluated the risk of cardiovascular disease in IBM.

We conducted a non-concurrent cohort study utilizing the expanded Rochester Epidemiologic Project, including 50 patients with IBM, matched 1:6 to age-, sex-, and calendar year-matched referents without IBM. Baseline cardiovascular risk factors were recorded. Differences in baseline covariates were adjusted by the inverse probability of treatment weighting method. Participants were followed from the index date forward to determine relative risks (RR) and hazard ratios (HR) for the development of cardiovascular outcomes including MI, ischemic stroke, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure (CHF), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD).

50 patients with IBM and 294 matched population referents were included. Baseline cardiovascular risk factors were similar between groups. Aspirin use was more common (28% vs. 18%, p = 0.03) and statin use less common (26% vs. 38%, p = 0.04) in IBM versus referents. Patients with IBM had an increased hazard of MI compared to referents [HR: 5.79, 95% CI (2.51, 13.36)]. The risk of MI remained consistently elevated across all models, after accounting for potential confounders. For PVD, 16/50 IBM patients versus 16/287 referents were excluded due to pre-existing PVD at index (p < 0.001). Among remaining participants, RR for PVD was 2.38 (0.82, 6.9). IBM was not associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, cardiomyopathy, or CHF.