Table 1a.
Description of an Inception Cohort of Children Recently Initiating Glucocorticoids for the Treatment of Rheumatic Disorders
| Clinical Characteristics | Overall Cohort N=134 |
Juvenile DM N=30 |
JIA N=28 |
SLE and Related Conditions N=26 |
Systemic Arthritis N=22 |
Systemic Vasculitis N=16 |
Other Conditions N=12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic Data | |||||||
| Female, N (%) | 87 (65) | 18 (60) | 18 (64) | 22 (85) | 13 (59) | 8 (50) | 8 (67) |
| Age, median (min, max) | 10.0 (1.4, 16.9) | 7.3 (1.9, 15.1) | 12.2 (3.7, 16.9) | 13.6 (5.0, 16.1) | 6.0 (1.4, 16.4) | 12.6 (4.7, 16.9) | 7.7 (3.3, 16.5) |
| Anthropometry | |||||||
| Height Z-score, mean±SD | 0.02±1.0 | −0.11±1.0 | −0.23±1.1 | −0.17±0.8 | 0.28±1.1 | 0.42±1.2 | 0.36±1.0 |
| Weight Z-score, mean±SD | 0.28±1.2 | 0.03±1.2 | 0.07±1.2 | 0.28±1.0 | 0.29±1.0 | 0.77±1.4 | 0.76±1.2 |
| BMI Z-score, mean±SD | 0.37±1.2 | 0.19±1.2 | 0.23±1.1 | 0.46±0.9 | 0.23±1.3 | 0.69±1.3 | 0.76±1.3 |
| Pubertal stage, N (%) | |||||||
| Stage 1 | 69 (53) | 24 (80) | 9 (35) | 7 (27) | 15 (68) | 7 (44) | 7 (64) |
| Stage 2–5 | 62 (47) | 6 (20) | 17 (65) | 19 (73) | 7 (32) | 9 (56) | 4 (36) |
| Bone age, median (min, max) | 10.0 (1.1, 17.5) | 6.8 (1.4, 15.5) | 12.9 (3.0, 16.0) | 14.5 (4.6, 16.5) | 5.9 (1.1, 17.0) | 13.8 (3.3, 17.0) | 7.7 (3.3, 17.5) |
| Age to bone age difference, mean±SD | −0.05±1.0 | 0.07±1.0 | 0.19±1.3 | −0.50±1.0 | 0.06±0.5 | −0.01±1.4 | −0.14±0.8 |
| Rheumatic Conditions Characteristics | |||||||
| Disease activity (10 cm VAS), mean±SD | 5.6±2.8 | 6.2±2.8 | 5.3±2.6 | 4.7±2.9 | 6.3±2.0 | 6.1±3.7 | 4.7±2.4 |
| ESR (mm/hr), median (min, max) | 33.0 (0, 133) | 17.0 (2, 109) | 36.0 (5, 106) | 47.5 (7, 116) | 58.5 (10, 133) | 47.0 (1, 109) | 9.5 (0, 40) |
| Number of days since diagnosis, median (min, max) | 22 (1, 4900) | 19 (1, 357) | 32 (1, 4900) | 16 (1, 235) | 22 (1, 64) | 21 (1, 132) | 61 (8, 1984) |
| Number of days since symptom onset, median (min, max) | 145 (17, 5110) | 124 (27, 742) | 353 (30, 5110) | 67 (17, 765) | 50 (18, 225) | 138 (24, 975) | 298 (155, 2349) |
| Physical Activity Level (the HAES Questionnaire) | |||||||
| Relative physical activity (% of waking hrs), median (min, max) | 46 (0, 97) | 42 (0, 86) | 51 (0, 91) | 38 (0, 97) | 52 (0, 83) | 36 (0, 78) | 67 (29, 90) |
| Very active weekend hours, median (min, max) | 1.0 (0, 17) | 0 (0, 7) | 1.4 (0, 11) | 0 (0, 17) | 0.9 (0, 8) | 0.4 (0, 5) | 4.7 (0, 12) |
| Glucocorticoid Treatment | |||||||
| Cumulative GC dose (mg/m2), mean±SD** | 1404±1690 | 2334±2184 | 460±797 | 1647±1643 | 762±1159 | 1680±1693 | 1477±1417 |
| Number of days on GC, mean±SD | 16.5±8.6 | 17.0±9.5 | 17.9±7.4 | 17.5±9.0 | 16.5±7.7 | 18.4±7.8 | 7.7±6.6 |
| Number of days between initial GC dose and DXA assessment, mean±SD | 16.7±8.7 | 15.8±10.0 | 18.6±7.1 | 16.0±9.4 | 15.5±8.7 | 17.1±7.5 | 19.3±9.5 |
| Lumbar Spine (LS) BMD | |||||||
| LS BMD Z-score, mean±SD | −0.55±1.2 | −1.06±1.0 | −0.71±1.4 | 0.06±1.1 | −0.63±0.8 | −0.70±1.5 | 0.04±0.8 |
| LS BMD Z-score for bone age, mean±SD | −0.60±1.0 | −1.01±0.8 | −0.70±1.2 | −0.22±0.9 | −0.57±1.0 | −0.76±1.3 | −0.02±0.85 |
SD=Standard deviation, BMI=Body mass index, VAS=Visual analogue scale, ESR=Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, BMD= Bone mineral density, GC=Glucocorticoids, JIA = Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, DM = Dermatomyositis, SLE = Systemic Lupus Erythematosis
**
Cumulative GC dose is reported in prednisone equivalents