Correlation between Physical Function, Health Related Quality of Life and Disease Activity in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Patients Attending Suez Canal University Hospital

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common inflammatory autoimmune rheumatic disease in children. It leads to impairments in physical function and health related quality of life. Functional ability and good physical function are important elements in evaluation of treatment efficacy and disease control. Objectives: To evaluate the correlation between physical function and health related quality of life with disease activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Methods: Thirty-four children diagnosed with JIA based on the International League Against Rheumatism (ILAR) Criteria. They had a clinical and laboratory assessment as well as an evaluation of their disease activity using the juvenile arthritis disease activity score (JADAS 27 ESR), in addition to the Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR) for functional evaluation and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Results: A significant moderate correlation (P value < 0.05) was seen between JADAS 27 ESR and both physical function and HRQoL. All patients with low disease activity had impaired physical function and HRQoL. There was a moderate correlation between active joint count and HRQoL and physical function in JIA patients (r = 0.43, r = 0.65 respectively). Physical function and HRQoL were moderately correlated with ESR (r = 0.44, r = 0.4 respectively). There was a negative correlation between Hemoglobin (Hb) and HRQoL, (r = -0.37, p value=0.02). Conclusion: The study's findings emphasize the significance of measuring HRQoL and physical function as a significant part of clinical evaluation of JIA patients.