Table 1.
Characteristics of 53 children with JIA aged 8–18 years
| Girls n = 37 | Boys n = 16 | p-value1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Age at study visit, years Md (range) |
14 (8–18) |
14 (10–18) |
0.612 |
|
CHAQ Disability Index2, n (%) |
|
|
|
| No-mild |
12 (32) |
5 (31) |
0.841 |
| Mild- moderate |
9 (24) |
5 (31) |
|
| Moderate |
12 (32) |
6 (37) |
|
| Severe |
3 (8) |
|
|
| Missing |
1 (3) |
|
|
|
Pain VAS3, 0–100 Md (range) |
31 (0–93) |
51 (0–99) |
0.377 |
|
Well-being VAS4, 0–100 Md (range) |
21 (0–99) |
28 (0–100) |
0.488 |
|
School absence days5, Md (range) |
0 (0–14) |
0 (0–6) |
0.258 |
|
Physical education attendance, n (%) |
|
|
|
| Always |
12 (32) |
9 (56) |
0.105 |
| Sometimes |
15 (41) |
5 (31) |
|
| Not at all |
6 (16) |
2 (12) |
|
| Not relevant |
3 (8) |
|
|
| Missing |
1 (3) |
|
|
|
Disease duration, years Md (range) |
5 (0–16) |
2 (0–13) |
0.054 |
|
ESR6, mm/hour Md (range) |
5 (2–31) |
4 (2–35) |
0.175 |
|
Disease activity categories, n (%) |
|
|
|
| No |
12 (32) |
9 (56) |
0.221 |
| Low |
20 (54) |
5 (31) |
|
| Moderate |
4 (11) |
2 (12) |
|
| High |
0 |
0 |
|
| Missing |
1 (3) |
|
|
|
Use of medications7, n (%) |
|
|
|
| DMARD |
24 (65%) |
7 (44%) |
0.704 |
| NSAID |
25 (68%) |
8 (50%) |
0.416 |
| Biologic medication |
4 (11%) |
0 |
|
| Corticosteroid therapy | 7 (19%) | 0 |
1Mann Whitney U test.
2Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index.
3Visual Analogue Scale for pain during the past week; 0 = no pain and 100 = very severe pain.
4Visual Analogue Scale for assessment of overall well-being; 0 = very good and 100 = very bad.
5Number of days absent from school the last two months, due to rheumatic disease.
6Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate.
7Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD), Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Participants might have more than one medication.