Comparison with adult-onset rheumatic diseases

Objective To compare physical disability, mental health, fatigue and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) categories in adulthood and between JIA and adult-onset rheumatic diseases. Methods Cross-sectional analysis nested in a cohort of adult patients with JIA registered in the Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register (Reuma.pt). Physical disability (Health Assessment Questionnaire - Disability Index), mental health symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Fatigue Scale (FACIT-F)) and HRQoL (EuroQol-5D (EQ5D) and Short Form (SF-36)) were compared across JIA categories. Patients with polyarticular JIA and enthesis-related arthritis (ERA) JIA were compared respectively to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA), matched for gender and age, adjusted for disease duration and activity. Results 585 adult patients with JIA were included. Comparison across JIA categories showed that persistent oligoarthritis and patients with ERA reported a higher score in EQ5D and SF-36 physical component when compared with other JIA categories. Polyarticular JIA reported less disability and fatigue than patients with RA (median Health Assessment Questionnaire of 0.25 vs 0.63; p