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SULAIMAN M. AL-MAYOUF, SANA M. MADI, KHALID ALMANE, and SULIMAN AL JUMMAH ABSTRACT. Methods. The familial JIA group comprised 11 affected siblings belonging to 4 families, while the comparative group comprised 22 patients selected by systematic sampling from JIA patients presenting to our pediatric rheumatology clinic; the first patient was chosen randomly and the subsequent patients chosen at intervals of 3. The 2 groups were compared with respect to demographic information, age at onset of disease, disease activity, disease damage, and laboratory variables. Results. The 2 groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, and onset type of disease. All patients from the familial group were from a southern province of Saudi Arabia (p = 0.001). The familial group had an earlier age at onset of disease (p = 0.039), the mean number of actively inflamed joints was higher (p = 0.009), and functional capacity as measured by Childhood HAQ was worse (p = 0.048), compared with the sporadic group. Other variables showed no significant differences. Conclusion. The comparison of patients with familial versus sporadic JIA revealed a significant difference in origin of patients and age at onset of disease. These differences may be helpful in identifying the predisposing genes in familial patients with JIA. (J Rheumatol 2006;33:597–600)
Key Indexing Terms: JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS From the Departments of Pediatrics, Physiotherapy, and Radiology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. S.M. Al-Mayouf, MD, Consultant, Department of Pediatrics; S.M. Madi, PT, Department of Physiotherapy; K. AlMane, MD, Department of Radiology; S. Al Jummah, MD, Department of Pediatrics. Address reprint requests to Dr. S.M. Al-Mayouf, Department of Pediatrics, MBC-58, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, PO Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: mayouf@kfshrc.edu.sa Accepted for publication October 19, 2005. All rights reserved. |
