The patient’s voice: a cross-sectional study of physical health and disability in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

• Main Authors: Arneng, Sofie Mikalsen, Jenssen, Isabelle Pignatel, Lundestad, Anette, Cetrelli, Lena Elisabet, Angenete, Oskar W, Nordal, Ellen Berit, Tylleskär, Karin Birgitta, Romundstad, Pål Richard, Rygg, Marite
• Format: Article
• Language: English

Background With increasing focus on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in chronic rheumatic diseases, we aimed to evaluate the self-reported physical and psychosocial health in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) compared to matched population-based controls. Furthermore, we aimed to study the association of patient- and physician-reported outcome measures in JIA with patient-reported physical disability. Methods We used data from a Norwegian JIA cohort study (NorJIA), including clinical characteristics and outcome measures in participants with JIA and sex- and age-matched population-based controls. Self-reported physical and psychosocial health were assessed using the generic Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). Comparisons between children with JIA and controls were performed by test of proportions for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables. To evaluate the association of patient- and physician-reported outcome measures with patient-reported physical disability, assessed with the Child Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) in children with JIA, we used logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results In total, 221 participants with JIA (59.3% females, median age 12.7 years) and 207 controls with available data were included. In the JIA group, 24.3% scored below the norm for physical health (CHQ PhS