PAEDIATRIC RHEUMATOLOGY SERIES EDITOR: P. WOO SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND JUVENILE CHRONIC ARTHRITIS

We studied the school attendance of 113 children and adolescents (mean age 11 yr, S.D. 3.8, range 3–18 yr) with juvenile chronic arthritis (73 with pauci- and 40 with polyarthritis). The mean attendance rate for the group was 92 % (equivalent to 15 absent days a year) with a median of 97%. Attendance was significantly lower in the more severely aected poly group (90 % vs 98 % in the pauci group; P = 0.03). We found associations of school absence (i) with decreased compliance with physical treatments (r=ÿ 0.35, P<0.05 for compliance with physiotherapy) in the poly group and (ii) with child psychological deviance (r = 0.36 for parentally rated and r = 0.42 for teacher-rated psychological deviance; both P<0.05) in the pauci group. We conclude that school attendance can be good in severely aected children. Severity of illness, treatment compliance and psychological problems in the child may aect school attendance. KEY WORDS: School attendance, Juvenile arthritis, Treatment compliance, Psychiatric adjustment. CHRONIC physical illness in children and adolescents may greatly disrupt child and family life. It also dis-rupts schooling. Missing school can lead to problems in keeping up with schoolwork and in social relation-ships. It may have long-term consequences. For example, poor educational performance in childhoo