The feasibility of existing JADAS10 cut-off values in clinical practice: a study of data from The Finnish Rheumatology Quality Register.

BACKGROUND: The ten-joint juvenile arthritis disease activity score (JADAS10) is designed to measure the level of disease activity in non-systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis by providing a single numeric score. The clinical JADAS10 (cJADAS10) is a modification of the JADAS10 that excludes erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Three different sets of JADAS10/cJADAS10 cut-offs for disease activity states have been published, i.e., the Backström, Consolaro, and Trincianti cut-offs. The objective of this study was to investigate the performance of existing JADAS10 cut-offs in real-life settings using patient data from The Finnish Rheumatology Quality Register (FinRheuma). METHODS: Data were collected from the FinRheuma register. The proportion of patients with an active joint count (AJC) above zero when classified as being in clinically inactive disease (CID) or low disease activity (LDA) groups according to existing JADAS10/cJADAS10 cut-off levels were analyzed. RESULTS: A significantly larger proportion of the patients classified as being in CID had an AJC > 0 when using the JADAS10/cJADAS10 cut-offs by Trincianti et al. compared to those for the other cut-offs. In the LDA group, a significantly larger proportion of the polyarticular patients (35%/29%) had an AJC of two when Trincianti JADAS10/cJADAS10 cut-offs were used compared with when Backström (11%/10%) and Consolaro (7%/3%) JADAS10/cJADAS10 cut-offs were used. CONCLUSIONS: We found the cut-offs proposed by Consolaro et al. to be the most feasible, since these cut-off levels for CID do not result in the misclassification of active disease as remission, and the proportion of patients with AJC > 1 in the LDA group is lowest using these cut-offs.

Transition to adult care in Finnish adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: The symptoms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and the necessity for continuous treatment may persist in adulthood. Therefore, patients with JIA need to be appropriately transferred to adult care. We aimed to analyse the timing of the patients' transition to adult care, and patients' self-management skills with the process and the quality of the transition. METHOD: This study included 161 Finnish participants of the population-based Nordic JIA cohort who attended a 17 year follow-up appointment. Special attention was paid to the three groups: those referred by the paediatric rheumatology outpatient clinic to primary healthcare (PHC), those who were directly transferred to adult rheumatology care, and those who were later referred. RESULTS: A total of 136 patients (84%) were eligible to participate in the study, and 40% of them were directly transferred to an adult rheumatology clinic. Of the patients, 72% eventually ended up being referred to an adult rheumatology outpatient clinic. However, 16% of the patients in the PHC group had active disease during the study appointment and were referred to adult services after the study visit. CONCLUSION: This study reveals the need to improve the transition process from paediatric care to adult care and to find the variables that can indicate the need for immediate transition. Although challenging, it is important to avoid treatment delay in adult patients with JIA who may have active disease but who do not have appropriate access to an adult rheumatological outpatient clinic.

Initiating disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs rapidly reduces purchases of analgesic drugs in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objective: To describe the use of analgesics 12 months before and after initiation of the first disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Method: A register-based study linked three nationwide registers in Finland: the Register on Reimbursement for Prescription Medicines, the Drug Purchase Register (both maintained by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution), and the Finnish Population Register. The study ran from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. It included 1481 patients aged < 16 years with diagnosed JIA and 4511 matched controls. Index day was the date when reimbursement for JIA medication was approved and treatment was initiated. The study period included 12 months pre- and post-index date, and purchases of prescription drugs were assessed for 3 month periods. Results: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were purchased for 60% of the patients. Compared to controls, NSAID purchases for JIA patients were at their highest during the last 3 months before the index day [relative rate (RR) 21.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 17.1-26.2], and they decreased steeply over the 10-12 months post-index (RR 4.0, 95% CI 3.1-5.0). Similar trends were seen with paracetamol and opioid purchases, but only 2% of patients purchased opioids during the 12 months pre-index and 1% during the 12 months post-index. Methotrexate was the most commonly used DMARD (91.9%), biologic DMARDs were used by 2.8% and glucocorticoids by 24.8% in the 3 months after the index day. Conclusion: Initiation of DMARDs rapidly reduces the need for analgesics in patients with JIA.

Pain interference and associated factors in young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objective: Pain is a common and distressing feature of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Pain interference (PI) is underexplored in long-term conditions such as JIA. The aim of this study was to explore the factors associated with PI in young adults with JIA. Methods: All consecutive JIA patients aged 18-30 years in three tertiary rheumatology and rehabilitation centres in Finland between September 2015 and April 2016 were included. The patients completed questionnaires addressing demographics, disability, depressive symptoms, pain anxiety, pain intensity, and PI. PI was measured with a single item from the RAND-36 questionnaire. Five response categories were coded into three groups: patients reporting 'extremely', 'quite a bit' or 'moderate' were classified as having significant PI; 'a little bit' as having minor PI; and 'not at all' as having no PI. A leisure-time physical activity metabolic equivalent of task (LTPA MET) was calculated. Statistical comparisons between PI and categorical variables were made using chi-squared or Fisher-Freeman-Halton tests. Results: Of the total 195 patients, 97 (50%) patients reported PI. PI was associated with a wide spectrum of sociodemographic and disease-related variables. Pain intensity scores were higher in patients expressing greater PI (p < 0.001). Greater PI was associated with higher disability (p < 0.001), higher pain anxiety scores (p < 0.001), lower LTPA MET (p = 0.027), and poorer leisure-time activity (p < 0.001). Conclusions: PI is common in young adults with JIA. We suggest that PI should be taken into account in future outcome studies exploring the impact of pain in children and young adults with JIA.

Disability and health-related quality of life are associated with restricted social participation in young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To describe a cohort of Finnish juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients, to recognize those young adults who are at risk of becoming socially restricted by their long-term rheumatic disease, and to assess which areas of self-rated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are associated with the emergence of restricted social participation. METHODS: A total of 195 young adults with JIA completed questionnaires addressing demographics, health behaviour, physical activity, functional ability, HRQoL, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Patients were classified as having non-restricted social participation if they were engaged in studying, working, maternity leave, or military service, and restricted social participation if they were unemployed or on disability pension. RESULTS: Of the patients, 162 (83%) were considered as having non-restricted social participation and 33 (16%) restricted social participation. Among patients with restricted social participation, five (15%) were on disability pension and 28 (85%) were unemployed. Patients with restricted social participation participated less in leisure-time non-physical activities (p = 0.033), felt more disturbed during their leisure time (p = 0.010), had lower self-esteem (p = 0.005), and had higher disability scores (p = 0.024). HRQoL scores revealed statistically significant differences between the groups: physical functioning (p = 0.043), social functioning (p = 0.016), and emotional well-being (p = 0.049) were all lower in patients with restricted social participation. CONCLUSIONS: Socially restricted patients showed a higher degree of disability, and lower levels of physical functioning, self-esteem, emotional well-being, and social functioning. These patients should be recognized earlier and interventions provided to enhance their social participation.