Objectives: To investigate an optimal composite score for disease activity in adult JIA from the viewpoint of the subsequent changes in physical function.
Methods: Patients with JIA under the following conditions were enrolled: 1) disease onset < 18 years; 2) registered in the database by Tokyo Women's Medical University for the first time between 2000 and 2020; and 3) ≥18 years old at the time of registration. Patients were stratified according to mean disease activity scores in SDAI, DAS28, and JADAS-27 during the first year from baseline. Trends of estimated mean change in Japanese-HAQ score (ΔJ-HAQ) from baseline to 2 years later was examined across the stratified groups of each index.
Results: We included 294 eligible individuals (median age at onset, 14.0 years; RF positive in 64.7%). A significant increasing trend of the estimated mean ΔJ-HAQ at 2 years after baseline was observed along with an increase in the mean disease activity during the first year measured using DAS28 (p = 0.01) and SDAI (p = 0.018), but not using JADAS-27.
Conclusions: Disease activity measured using SDAI and DAS28, but not using JADAS27, was significantly associated with subsequent changes in physical function in adult patients with JIA.
Keywords: Adult; Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ); composite measures; juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA); rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
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