The Relationship Between Physical Activity Levels and Pain in Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis A cluster-randomized controlled trial to reduce sedentary behavior and promote physical activity and health of 8-9 year olds: The Transform-Us! Study Methotrexate improves the health-related quality of life of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Health-Related Quality of Life, Physical Function, Fatigue, and Disease Activity in Children with Established Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis High prevalence of temporomandibular joint arthritis at disease onset in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, as detected by magnetic resonance imaging but not by ultrasound. A two-year prospective controlled study of bone mass and bone turnover in children with early juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Objective . Pain and reduced physical activity levels are common in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) . Currently , there is no consensus about the role of physical activity in managing pain in JIA . The purpose of our study was to assess the relationship between physical activity level and pain in children ages 11 to 18 years with JIA . Methods . A r and om sample of 50 patients with JIA were approached by mailed question naires . Physical activity was determined using the Physical Activity Question naire ( PAQ ) .  Pain measures included the Numerical Rating Scale ( pain severity ) , SUPER-KIDZ body diagram ( number of painful areas ) , and the Child Activities Limitations Inventory-21 ( pain interference ) . Generalized linear models were used to assess the relationship between physical activity and pain , as well as the roles of sex and age . Results . The response rate was 84 % . Thirty-four respondents completed the question naire package . The median age was 15 years . The mean PAQ score was 2.16/5 . Physical activity declines with increasing age in youth with JIA ( r = 0.53 , p = 0.0014 ) . Lower physical activity is associated with greater pain interference ( r = 0.39 , p = 0.0217 ) and more severe pain ( r = 0.35 , p = 0.0422 ) . Conclusion . Children with JIA report significantly less activity than healthy children based on PAQ scores , with physical activity declining throughout adolescence . Physical activity is inversely related to pain interference and severity in children with JIA . Our findings suggest that physical activity interventions may play an important role in the management of pain in JIA Background Physical activity ( PA ) is associated with positive cardio-metabolic health and emerging evidence suggests sedentary behavior ( SB ) may be detrimental to children 's health independent of PA . The primary aim of the Transform-Us ! study is to determine whether an 18-month , behavioral and environmental intervention in the school and family setting s results in higher levels of PA and lower rates of SB among 8 - 9 year old children compared with usual practice ( post-intervention and 12-months follow-up ) . The secondary aims are to determine the independent and combined effects of PA and SB on  children 's cardio-metabolic health risk factors ; identify the factors that mediate the success of the intervention ; and determine whether the intervention is cost-effective . Methods / design A four-arm cluster-r and omized controlled trial ( RCT ) with a 2 × 2 factorial design , with schools as the unit of r and omization . Twenty schools will be allocated to one of four intervention groups , sedentary behavior ( SB-I ) , physical activity ( PA-I ) , combined SB and PA ( SB+PA-I ) or current practice control ( C ) , which will be evaluated among approximately 600 children aged 8 - 9 years in school year 3 living in Melbourne , Australia . All children in year 3 at intervention schools in 2010 ( 8 - 9 years ) will receive the intervention over an 18-month period with a maintenance ' booster ' delivered in 2012 and children at all schools will be invited to participate in the evaluation assessment s. To maximize the sample and to capture new students arriving at intervention and control schools , recruitment will be on-going up to the post-intervention time point . Primary outcomes are time spent sitting and in PA assessed via accelerometers and inclinometers and survey . Discussion To our knowledge , Transform-Us ! is the first RCT to examine the effectiveness of intervention strategies for reducing children 's overall sedentary time , promoting PA and optimizing health outcomes . The integration of consistent strategies and messages to children from teachers and parents in both school and family setting s is a critical component of this study , and if shown to be effective , may have a significant impact on educational policies as well as on pedagogical and parenting practice s . Trial registration ACTRN12609000715279 ; Current Controlled Trials IS RCT OBJECTIVES To examine the change in health-related quality of life ( HRQOL ) and its determinants in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) treated with methotrexate ( MTX ) .  METHODS Patients were extracted from the PRINTO clinical trial which aim ed to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of MTX administered in st and ard , intermediate or higher doses ( 10 , 15 and 30 mg/m(2)/week respectively ) . Children with polyarticular-course JIA , who were less than 18 years and had a complete HRQOL assessment were included . RESULTS A total of 521 children were included . At baseline , patients with JIA showed poorer HRQOL ( p<0.01 ) than healthy children . In 207/412 ( 50 % ) and 63 ( 15 % ) children , HRQOL values were 2 st and ard deviations below the mean of healthy controls in the physical and psychosocial summary scale , respectively . After 6 months of treatment with st and ard dose MTX , there was a statistically significant improvement in all HRQOL health concepts , particularly the physical ones . Similar improvements were observed in those who did not respond to a st and ard dose of MTX and were subsequently r and omised to a higher dose . The presence of marked disability at baseline was associated with a fivefold increased risk of retaining poor physical health after 6 months of active treatment with st and ard dose MTX . Other less important determinants of retaining poor physical well-being were the baseline level of systemic inflammation , pain intensity and an antinuclear-antibody-negative status . CONCLUSIONS MTX treatment produces a significant improvement across a wide range of HRQOL components , particularly in the physical domains , in patients with JIA Objective . To compare child  self-report and parent/proxy report of health-related quality of life ( HRQOL ) , disability , and fatigue in children with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) to that of children with inactive polyarticular JIA and to previous data from healthy controls . Methods . Cross-sectional survey of children with polyarticular JIA diagnosed and treated between 2000 to 2006 and their parent/proxy . The Childhood Health Assessment Question naire , Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory ( PedsQL ) Generic Core Scales , PedsQL Rheumatology Module , and PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale were administered . Disease activity data were collected from the physician clinic notes . Comparisons were performed with t tests . Correlations between patient and parent/proxy reports were measured with Pearson correlation coefficients . Results . Sixty children and /or their parents/proxies participated ( 79 % response rate ) . Disease activity status was available for 52 , and 32 met criteria for inactive disease ( 62 % ) . Participants reported lower scores on the PedsQL Generic Core Scales ( range 2.54–9.13 points lower ) and the PedsQL Rheumatology Module ( range 2.46–6.96 points lower ) than those with inactive disease . Participants also reported lower scores on the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale than did healthy controls , regardless of disease activity status ( range 0.06–9.2 points lower ) . Conclusion . Although children in this cohort with polyarticular JIA and inactive disease reported HRQOL scores similar to those of healthy controls , children with polyarticular JIA and their parents/proxies tended to report more fatigue than controls , regardless of disease activity . Application of these measures prospect ively to larger cohorts of children with JIA is needed to assess these differences OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of temporom and ibular joint ( TMJ ) disease in a cohort of children with new-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) , and to compare magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) with ultrasound ( US ) for the detection of acute and chronic changes of TMJ arthritis . METHODS Between January 2005 and April 2007 , children with newly diagnosed JIA were prospect ively evaluated for TMJ arthritis . Prior to imaging , jaw pain and disability were assessed with question naires and physical examination . The TMJs of all patients were imaged with MRI and US within 8 weeks of diagnosis . RESULTS Of the 32 patients enrolled , 78 % were female , and the median age was 8.6 years ( range 1.5 - 17.2 years ) .  Acute TMJ arthritis was diagnosed in 75 % of the children by MRI and in none by US ; chronic arthritis was diagnosed in 69 % by MRI and in 28 % by US . Findings of both acute and chronic TMJ disease were detected by MRI in 53 % of the patients . Of those with acute TMJ arthritis , 71 % were asymptomatic , and 63 % had normal findings on jaw examination . Fifty-six percent of patients with acute disease had an improved maximal incisal opening after corticosteroid injection . Among these responders , 56 % had been asymptomatic and had normal jaw examination findings . CONCLUSION TMJ arthritis was present in the majority of patients with new-onset JIA . Findings on MRI along with responses to treatment among asymptomatic patients with normal jaw examination findings suggest that a history review and physical examination are not sufficient to screen for TMJ disease . Our results also suggest that MRI and US findings are not well correlated , and that MRI is preferable for the detection of TMJ disease in new-onset JIA OBJECTIVE To explore early changes and predictors of bone mass in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) in order to identify patients who will develop bone mass reductions . METHODS We conducted a prospect i ve cohort study of 108 children with early JIA ( ages 6 - 18 years ; mean disease duration 19.3 months ) who were individually matched with 108 healthy children for age , sex , race , and county of residence .  Bone mass and changes in total body , spine , femur , and forearm bone mineral density and bone mineral content ( BMC ) , body composition , growth , and biochemical parameters of bone turnover were examined at baseline and at followup a mean of 24 months later . Low bone mass was defined as a Z score > 1 SD below the reference population . RESULTS Of the 200 children evaluated at followup , the 100 healthy children had greater gains in total body BMC ( P = 0.035 ) , distal radius BMC ( P < 0.001 ) , and total body lean mass ( P < 0.001 ) than did the 100 JIA patients . Low or very low total body BMC was observed in 24 % of the patients and 12 % of the healthy children . Bone formation , bone resorption , and weight-bearing activities were reduced in the patients compared with the healthy children . Multiple regression analysis showed that in patients with JIA , serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase , serum C-telopeptide of type I collagen , and weight-bearing activities were independent predictors of changes in total body BMC . Total body BMC was lower in patients with polyarticular onset than in those with oligoarticular disease onset . CONCLUSION Patients with JIA have moderate reductions in bone mass gains , bone turnover , and total body lean mass early in the disease course
Results The literature review and meta- analysis identified decreased PA and increased time spent in SB in these population s , which may exacerbate both their lower physical fitness and the symptoms of their health disorders .
Background Physical activity ( PA ) is essential for children throughout their growth and maturation .
It improves physiological and psychological health and limits the risk of developing metabolic disorders .
However , some chronic physiological and metabolic diseases may lead to decreased PA .
The diversity of outcomes in the literature offers no consensus for physical activity and sedentary levels in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA ) or inflammatory bowel disease ( IBD ) .
The aim was to examine  PA and SB  in children with JIA or IBD compared to their healthy peers .