Related Experiment Videos
Infections and related risk factors of arthritis in children. A case-control study
Insights
Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) frequently precede childhood arthritis and joint pain, suggesting a potential trigger role. Daycare attendance was also linked to transient synovitis of the hip in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rheumatology
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood arthritis encompasses various conditions, including juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and transient synovitis.
- Identifying triggers for pediatric joint symptoms is crucial for understanding disease etiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between preceding infections, particularly upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), and the onset of joint symptoms in children.
- To explore the role of daycare attendance in the development of specific pediatric joint conditions.
Main Methods:
- A parent-completed questionnaire collected data on clinical signs of infection preceding joint symptoms in 334 children.
- A case-control analysis compared 165 pediatric patients with matched community controls.
Main Results:
- URTIs preceded arthritis in 51% of cases, arthralgia in 56%, and trauma/orthopedic disease in 43%.
- A preceding URTI was significantly associated with acute transient arthritis (OR 7.0), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (OR 3.3), and transient synovitis of the hip (OR 3.0).
- Children with transient synovitis of the hip were more likely to attend daycare (OR 3.5).
Conclusions:
- URTIs appear to play an etiologic or triggering role in several forms of childhood arthritis.
- Daycare attendance is a significant risk factor for transient synovitis of the hip in children.
Abstract:
We used a parent-completed questionnaire to record the clinical signs of infection preceding the onset of joint symptoms by 1 month or less in 334 children with arthritis or other joint disease. An upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) often preceded the onset of arthritis (51%) but also arthralgia (56%) and even trauma or orthopedic disease (43%). The results of a case-control analysis of 165 patients and community controls matched for age and sex were in favour of a preceding URTI having an etiologic or triggering role in acute transient arthritis of other joints than the hip only (odds ratio of preceding URTI, 7.0), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (odds ratio 3.3) and transient synovitis of the hip (odds ratio 3.0). The form of day-care differed significantly from that of controls only in patients with transient synovitis of the hip who attended a day-care centre more often than controls (odds ratio 3.5).