Does the ACR/EULAR Total Improvement Score Reflect How Individuals With Autoimmune Inflammatory Myopathies Feel and Function?
Authors' conclusion
The findings of this cohort study support the use of the TIS in AIM research but also highlight potential limitations in its ability to capture outcomes across the broader AIM spectrum, particularly among older individuals and those with longer disease duration.
Study context
- Population
- Adult patients with autoimmune inflammatory myopathies (AIM) and active disease at baseline who completed a 1-year follow-up visit, from a research cohort
- Participants
- 65 patients
- Outcome
- Absolute change in PRO scores (pain NRS, FACIT-Fatigue, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Fatigue 8a, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), SF-36 PCS and MCS) per 20-unit increase in absolute TIS
- Follow-up
- 1 year
Methodological detailsmultivariable linear regression
- Multivariable linear regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Association of TIS with PRO changes (adjusted)
- Increase in absolute Total Improvement Score (TIS) associated with statistically significant improvements in pain, PROMIS-Fatigue, FACIT-Fatigue and SF-36 PCS scores
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
TIS improvement category · 1 year
- No improvement
- 40%
- Minimal improvement
- 34%
- Moderate improvement
- 26%
FACIT-Fatigue: interaction between age and TIS
- Significant interaction between age and TIS
Stratified by disease duration
- Only patients with shorter disease duration significantly improved in pain and FACIT-Fatigue scores
Original publication
Does the ACR/EULAR Total Improvement Score Reflect How Individuals With Autoimmune Inflammatory Myopathies Feel and Function? J Rheumatol. Published 15 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →