Abstract

We analyzed the clinical, biological, and radiological aspects of hip involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in a developing country. The recruited patients fulfilled the International League Against Rheumatism criteria for the diagnosis of the JIA. Clinical, biological, and radiological parameters relating to the JIA were collected. Hip involvement was assessed according to clinical and radiological data related to hip disease. One hundred twenty-one patients were included (68 girls and 53 boys). The mean age of the disease onset was 9 +/- 4.2 years (1-16 years). The mean age of the patients at the time of the study was 15 +/- 10 years (2-46 years). The duration of the disease was 5 +/- 8.5 years (0.5-39 years). Forty cases (33%) of the hip involvement were noted. The mean age was 24 +/- 10.03 years (3-46 years); the sex ratio was 1:3. The mean duration of the hip disease was 0.6 +/- 3.6 years (3-14 years). Hip arthritis seemed to be more frequent in polyarticular and enthesitis-related arthritis. The severity of the hip involvement was significantly correlated with early disease onset, disease duration, subtypes, and high disability (for all these data p < 0.05). This study suggested that in JIA hip involvement was more frequent in enthesitis-related arthritis and polyarticular subtypes. It was correlated with the severity and the early disease onset of the JIA, which was similar to reported data.