What impact does juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have on quality of life over time?

Poster presentation Tuesday 8 October Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of arthritic conditions presenting in children and young people, in which physical limitations and associated complications can have detrimental effects on physical and psychosocial wellbeing. This study aims to investigate the impact of living with JIA on different aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to explore how this changes over time, using data from the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study (CAPS). Methods Longitudinal data collected as part of CAPS were analysed. HRQoL was assessed at baseline, 1 year and 3 years post-diagnosis using the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ), a parent-completed form for children from 5 years of age. The CHQ measures physical, emotional and social components of child health status. Raw domain scores were transformed via algorithm into values ranging from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better health status. Mean (standard deviation) and median (interquartile range) for each domain were determined. Differences between median scores at baseline and 3 years were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Mean scores of each domain were visually compared with a reference population sample of healthy children from the United States. Results 184 participants completed the questionnaire at all 3 time points. At baseline, compared to the reference population, children with JIA scored lower in every domain although scores were closer between the 2 groups at 3 years. Median scores improved over time, the exception being the “general health perceptions” domain which decreased after baseline. Domains with the greatest improvement were “physical functioning”, “bodily pain” and “social-physical”. The largest changes occurred from baseline to 1 year. Statistically significant differences between baseline and 3 year scores were found for all domains. Conclusion JIA has significant impact on HRQoL, which improves within 3 years of diagnosis. Physical health domains show greater improvement over time than psychosocial domains, although psychosocial scores were generally higher throughout the study. Further research should explore measurable patient or disease-related drivers of HRQoL. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.