{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]],"date-time":"2026-06-08T11:14:28Z","timestamp":1780917268925,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]],"date-time":"2026-06-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780876800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JPM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a heterogenous group of disorders frequently complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD). We sought to discern phenotypic and serological differences according to the presence of ILD and initial evaluating medical specialty, i.e., rheumatology vs. pulmonology, with the goal of advancing personalized medicine. Methods: A computer-assisted search was conducted to identify patients with a diagnosis of IIM seen at Attikon University Hospital, from January 2010 to December 2025. Medical records were reviewed for clinical, laboratory and serological features. Results: We identified 140 patients with IIM; 96 (68.6%) were female with a mean age at diagnosis of 55.8 years (SD 15.7). ILD was present in 75 patients (53.6%), being more common among males (30\/44, 68.2% vs. 45\/96 females, 46.9%, p = 0.019). Patients in the ILD subgroup were older at diagnosis (mean age 60.2 years vs. 50.7 years, p &lt; 0.001) and presented more often with dyspnea (41 vs. 1, p &lt; 0.001), higher CRP (median 5.95 mg\/L vs. 2.9 mg\/L, p = 0.024), and lower CPK (median 103 vs. 580, p &lt; 0.001). Patients first seen by a pulmonologist were more likely to be older (mean age 60.5 years vs. 53 years, p = 0.002) and to present with dyspnea (33 vs. 9, p &lt; 0.001) and ILD (48 vs. 27, p &lt; 0.001). By contrast, skin involvement (61% vs. 27%, p = 0.04), muscle weakness (53 vs. 15, p &lt; 0.001) and elevated CPK (median 301.5 vs. 103.5, p = 0.013) were less frequent in these patients as compared to patients first evaluated by a rheumatologist. Anti-tRNA synthetase, anti-Ro52 and anti-Pm\/Scl antibodies were more frequent in the ILD subgroup. Anti-tRNA antibodies were also more frequent in patients first seen by a pulmonologist. Conclusions: Patients with IIM-ILD are more likely to present without overt clinical or biochemical characteristics of muscle involvement, thereby increasing the likelihood of initial evaluation by pulmonologists.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jpm16060311","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]],"date-time":"2026-06-08T10:04:14Z","timestamp":1780913054000},"page":"311","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinical and Serological Characteristics of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies According to the Presence of Interstitial Lung Disease and Initial Evaluating Medical Specialty: A Single-Center Experience"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6804-1544","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christina","family":"Koukouvitaki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Unit, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5423-5847","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sofia","family":"Flouda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Unit, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8335-5020","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Theofanis","family":"Karageorgas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Unit, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4278-9922","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stelios","family":"Loukides","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dimitrios T.","family":"Boumpas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Unit, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Laboratory of Autoimmunity and Inflammation, Center for Clinical, Biomedical Research Foundation, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Academy of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2696-031X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonis","family":"Fanouriakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Unit, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5647-6505","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aggelos","family":"Banos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Unit, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Laboratory of Autoimmunity and Inflammation, Center for Clinical, Biomedical Research Foundation, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Academy of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7030-6166","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasilios","family":"Tzilas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2nd Pulmonary Medicine Department, University Hospital \u201cAttikon\u201d, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10431 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1476","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chest.2023.01.031","article-title":"Diagnosis and Management of Myositis-Associated Lung Disease","volume":"163","author":"Hallowell","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chest"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"272","DOI":"10.1016\/S2213-2600(24)00267-4","article-title":"Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies related lung disease in adults","volume":"13","author":"Sehgal","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet Respir. 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