Comparison of Functional Capacity with Reference Values Using the 6-Minute Walk Test in Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Aim: Evaluating the walking capacity of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is important to understand disease progression and to determine treatment efficacy. This study aims to investigate the walking capacity of JIA patients and to explore potential factors affecting their performance.Material and Method: A total of 30 JIA patients were enrolled between January 2023 and March 2023; as one patient could not complete the 6-minute walk test due to leg pain, analyses were performed on 29 patients. Before and after the test, the patients' pulse, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure values were recorded.Results: Among the patients, 16 (55.2%) were female. The median age was 14.7 years (range: 8-19 years), and the median age of disease onset was 9.3 years (range: 1-17 years). The distribution of patients by JIA subtype was as follows: 22 (75.9%) had oligoarticular JIA, 5 (17.2%) had enthesitis-related arthritis, 1 (3.4%) had RF-positive polyarticular JIA, and 1 (3.4%) had psoriatic arthritis. The mean walking distance achieved by the patients was 536.8±80.8 meters. The patients walked 73.7- 102.5% of the walking distances predicted in the literature, and a significant decrease in walking capacity was found.Conclusion: This study suggests reduced walking capacity among JIA patients relative to published reference values. A lower walking capacity was observed in patients receiving treatment compared with those in remission, although this finding may be influenced by confounding by indication and should be interpreted with caution. These preliminary findings support further investigation into the potential value of physical activity as an adjunct to medical treatment in JIA.