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Health‐related quality of life in children with early‐stage juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Author(s) -
Charuvanij Sirirat,
Chaiyadech Chollada
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
musculoskeletal care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1557-0681
pISSN - 1478-2189
DOI - 10.1002/msc.1393
Subject(s) - medicine , interquartile range , quality of life (healthcare) , odds ratio , confidence interval , juvenile , arthritis , physical therapy , pediatrics , cross sectional study , disease , pathology , genetics , nursing , biology
Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic inflammatory disease resulting in physical and psychological disability. This study aimed to measure the health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and identify factors influencing the HRQOL. Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional study in Thai children with JIA and their parents between January and December 2015, using the Thai version of the Pediatrics Quality of Life (PedsQL) 4.0 generic core scale. Results Sixty‐five children (33 girls and 32 boys) were included. The median age of the children was 9.6 (interquartile range [IQR] 6.4–12.3) years and the median disease duration was 1.1 (IQR 0.2–2.2) years. The physical health subscale had the lowest score, with a median (range) of 78.1 (34.4–100). Twenty‐five (45.4%) children were classified as having suboptimal HRQOL. The school functioning subscale had the lowest score, at 60 (25–100) reported by parents. High disease activity and a disease duration <1 year were significantly associated with suboptimal HRQOL reported by parents, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 20.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 291.7) and 5.9 (95% CI 1.2, 33.3), respectively. Conclusions Almost half of Thai children with JIA had suboptimal HRQOL. The physical health score was the lowest subscale reported by the children. Early, effective management of disease activity could improve the HRQOL in children with JIA.