Pain, discomfort persist in JIA patients despite medication use

Problems with pain or discomfort continue to bother young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) despite their constant use of medication, a study has shown.

A total of 540 young adults with JIA enrolled in the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Registry from 2015 to 2019, who were at least 18 years of age at their last clinical site visit, were included in this study.

Data from the CARRA Registry Long-term Follow-up program, which follows inactive CARRA Registry patients and collects patient-reported information through phone surveys, were used. The researchers then compared the characteristics of respondents with complete and incomplete transfer to adult rheumatology care at their first long-term follow-up phone survey.

Of the included patients, 187 (35 percent) responded to the survey. Fifty-four percent of the respondents with complete transfer to adult rheumatology were a little older and reported more self-assessed disease activity, morning stiffness, and pain relative to those with incomplete transfer.

Use of biologic therapy was high at both timepoints and did not differ by transfer status.

Compared to patients with an incomplete transfer, those who completed the transfer to adult rheumatology were more likely to have private insurance and actively pursue postsecondary education. Across the cohort, 65 percent had had problems with pain or discomfort, while 45 percent reported dealing with anxiety or depression.

“Additional work is needed to understand how best to address comorbid pain around the period of transition to adult care,” the researchers said.