To evaluate the long-term outcome of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) using data from a large cohort database, Institute of Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis, managed by the Tokyo Women's Medical University.
Of 182 patients identified from the database from 2000 to 2013, 114 were verified as having JIA. The transition of medical care and the contributions of biological DMARDs were evaluated.
The mean age of the patients (93 females, 81.6%) at the latest examination was 36.6 ± 13.3 years. The mean age at disease onset and mean disease duration were 11.6 ± 3.4 and 25.0 ± 13.3 years, respectively. Of the 114 patients, 106 (93.0%) had poly- or oligoarthritis. Only one-fourth transferred from general pediatricians or pediatric rheumatologists. More patients with recent disease onset were treated with biological DMARDs (16.7% in the 1970s, vs. 80.0% in the 2000s). Disease activity assessed with DAS28 was significantly lower when disease onset was more recent (3.9 ± 1.3 for onset in the 1960s vs. 2.2 ± 1.1 for onset in the 2000s, p = 0.04). The percentage of patients requiring orthopedic surgery has decreased (53.8% before the 1970s vs. 10.0% in the 2000s).
Patients with more recent disease onset showed an improved outcome. Establishing and sharing a transition program among pediatric and non-pediatric rheumatologists is desirable.