Growth retardation is a common complication of juvenile chronic arthritis.
The aim of this study was to determine how physical development in children with juvenile chronic arthritis is affected by the subtype and duration of the disease, and by the type of therapy used.
The study group included 71 children, 24 boys and 47 girls, ranging in age from five to eighteen years diagnosed and treated with juvenile chronic arthritis in Wrocław. At the time the subjects were examined, the disease was in remission. Anthropometric parameters were expressed in terms of standard deviations score using age and sex-specific reference values for Warsaw children. Anthropometric parameters measured included body height, body weight and BMI.
4.3% of the children were short in stature. Growth was inhibited only in those subjects that had been receiving glycocorticosteroids for more than one year. This can probably be attributed both to the effects of glycocorticosteroid treatment, and to the fact that the course of the disease in these children was severe enough to warrant the use of glycocorticosteroids, in the first place. The mean age of menarche for the girls in the study group was 12.8 years. This was not statistically different from the mean for the reference group.
Regular evaluation of physical development is an essential component of the protocol for monitoring the progress of the disease and the effect of the therapeutic strategy used, in children suffering from juvenile chronic arthritis.