Children Can Get Arthritis Too

Juvenile arthritis

Arthritis in children is called childhood arthritis or juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which is the most common type of arthritis found in children. Like other types of arthritis, JIA can cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in one or more joints. Other symptoms may include fever, fatigue, rash, and loss of appetite. The disease damages joints, which can make it difficult to do everyday things such as walking, dressing, and playing. Damage caused by JIA is permanent, so early diagnosis and proper treatment are important to prevent or minimize permanent damage. Some children with JIA achieve permanent remission, which means the disease is no longer active.

About 1 child in every 1,000 develops some type of chronic arthritis

Approximately 300,000 children in the United States are estimated to have some type of arthritis. Please review the frequently asked questions listed below for more detailed information:

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis by the Numbers

• The cause of juvenile idiopathic arthritis is unknown, and more girls than boys are affected. (Sacks 2007)
• The disorder has been identified all over the world in nearly all races and ethnicities with an average prevalence rate of one to two per 1,000 children.
• These disorders can affect children at any age, although rarely in the first six months of life.
• There is higher inpatient healthcare utilization in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) compared to those without JIA including joint surgery, non-joint surgery, and hospitalizations.(Krause 2016)
• It has been found that there are higher rates of depression in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis as compared to those without but no difference when adults. (Krause 2016)
• Because the causes of JIA are unknown, no one knows how to prevent these conditions.