Early disease course and predictors of disability in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile spondyloarthropathy: a 3 year prospective study.

Objective: . To describe the 3 year disease course in early juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and juvenile spondyloarthropathy (JSpA), to compare the health status after 3 years of followup with that of normal controls, and to investigate the relationship between physical function at followup and disease characteristics recorded during the first 6 months.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-seven children (median age 6:6 yrs) with JRA and JSpA and disease duration <1.

Measuring health status in early juvenile idiopathic arthritis: determinants and responsiveness of the child health questionnaire.

Objective: To assess the determinants and responsiveness of the Norwegian version of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) in patients with early juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to compare health status in patients and controls.

Methods: A total of 116 children (median age 8.4 yrs) with JIA and < 2.