This study was designed to determine the clinical profile of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and its morbidity using the juvenile arthritis damage index (JADI) score at a tertiary care center in northern Kerala and to compare with data from India and abroad.
A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of one and half years from January 2011 to July 2012. Clinical and laboratory profiles and morbidity were assessed.
There were 62 children (mean age 8.9 ± 3.8 years) with JIA during this period with a median duration of disease of 24 months (2-151 months). The most common subgroup was polyarticular JIA (n = 26; 41.9%) followed by systemic JIA (sJIA) (n = 20; 32.3%), oligoarticular JIA (n = 15; 24.2%) and enthesitis-related arthritis (n = 1; 1.6%). The most common joints involved at presentation were the knee (38.7%) followed by the ankle (25.8%). Weights and heights were less than the fifth centile in 25.8% and 11.3%, respectively, being most affected in sJIA. The frequencies of articular and extra-articular morbidities were highest in sJIA and showed negative correlation with age at onset and positive correlation with the duration of illness. Macrophage activation syndrome was diagnosed in 50% of sJIA with a mortality of 33.3%. We experienced lower frequency of articular (30.6% vs. 60.7%) and extra-articular damage (24.2% vs. 39.3%), growth failure (19.3% vs. 68.5%) and pubertal delay (4.8% vs. 20.2%) compared to another study from north India.
Our study shows lower frequency of morbidity in JIA; probably related to a better healthcare system facilitating early diagnosis and treatment in this part of the country.