Quality of life and disease activity assessment in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatological disease in children. It is a multisystemic, dynamic pathophysiology of unknown cause and genetically heterogeneous. Objective To compare the quality of life and illness' activity in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, from urban, suburban and rural areas. Material and methods Comparative, observational, and cross-sectional study in pediatric patients treated in a second-level medical care hospital, during the period from August to October 2015. The following questionnaires were applied: The Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire for Quality of Life and The Disease Activity Score-28, in addition to the facial pain and verbal numerical scales for disease activity, both for patients and parents. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for data analysis. Results 42 patients of three geostatistical areas were included: urban, suburban and rural; the middle age was 12.7 years, with predominance of the feminine sex (3:1). The polyarticulate type is more prevalent in the rural area. The pain is similar in the three regions. The population of the areas did not find significant difference for activity of the illness and quality of life between geostatistical areas (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions The patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis are usually older of eight years. The quality of life is better in the patients of the urban area, compared to those of other areas.