Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Author Spotlight: Self-Assessment Protocol for Predicting Psoriatic Arthritis in Psoriasis Patients
Published on: March 1, 2024
Patient-reported Outcomes across Categories of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Alysha J Taxter1, E Paul Wileyto1, Edward M Behrens1
1From the Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, and Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.A.J. Taxter, MD, Fellow, Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; E.P. Wileyto, PhD, Associate Professor, Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, The University of Pennsylvania; E.M. Behrens, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; P.F. Weiss, MD, MSCE, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, and Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Insights
Patients with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and undifferentiated juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) report worse pain, quality of life, and physical function. These findings highlight a need for targeted interventions for these JIA categories.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rheumatology
- Patient-Reported Outcomes
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Background:
- Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) are increasingly vital for managing juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
- Limited data exist on PRO variations across distinct JIA categories.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for tailored disease management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate patient-reported outcomes (PRO) including pain, quality of life, and physical function across JIA categories.
- To identify clinical factors associated with disparities in PRO among JIA subtypes.
- To inform strategies for improving PRO in pediatric rheumatology.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal cohort study design.
- Data collected from a tertiary care pediatric rheumatology clinic's electronic medical records.
- Mixed-effects regression analysis to assess PRO and clinical variables.
Main Results:
- Enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and undifferentiated JIA categories reported significantly higher pain, poorer quality of life, and reduced physical function.
- Factors associated with worse PRO included ERA and undifferentiated JIA categories, physician's global disease activity, female sex, and NSAID use.
- In ERA-specific models, female sex and tender enthesis count predicted decreased function.
Conclusions:
- Children with ERA and undifferentiated JIA experience inferior PRO compared to other JIA categories.
- Further research is essential to develop interventions aimed at enhancing PRO in JIA patients.
- Special attention should be directed towards improving outcomes for children with ERA and undifferentiated JIA.
Objective:
Although there is increasing reliance on patient-reported outcomes (PRO) for disease management, there is little known about the differences in PRO across juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) categories. The purpose of our study was to assess PRO across JIA categories, including pain, quality of life, and physical function, and to determine clinical factors associated with differences in these measures across categories.
Methods:
This was a longitudinal cohort study of patients with JIA at a tertiary care pediatric rheumatology clinic. Subjects, PRO, and clinical variables were identified by querying the electronic medical record. Mixed-effects regression assessed pain, quality of life, and function.
Results:
Subjects with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and undifferentiated JIA had significantly more pain, poorer quality of life, and poorer physical function. The ERA and undifferentiated JIA categories, physician's global disease activity assessment, female sex, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug use were significantly associated with more pain, poorer quality of life, and poorer function. In models limited to ERA, female sex and tender enthesis count were significant predictors of decreased function.
Conclusion:
ERA and undifferentiated JIA categories had poorer PRO than other JIA categories. Further work is needed to address ways to improve PRO in children with JIA, with a special focus on children with ERA and undifferentiated JIA.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by...
01:22Rheumatic Heart Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
01:17Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System I: Subjective Data
Health History
The initial step in assessing the GI system is obtaining a comprehensive health history. This includes inquiring about the patient's history or presence of problems...
01:24Asthma-III: Symptoms and Complications
Classification of Asthma
01:30Irritable Bowel Syndrome II: Clinical Features and Diagnostic Evaluation
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is classified into subtypes based on the predominant bowel habits as determined by the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS). The subtypes are:
01:29Inflammatory Bowel Disease IV: Pharmacological Management
Pharmacologic...