PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stephanie J.W.  Shoop-Worrall
AU  - Louisa Moull
AU  - Janet E.  McDonagh
AU  - Kimme L.  Hyrich
TI  - The Role of Age in Delays to Rheumatological Care in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.211316
DP  - 2022 Apr 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.211316
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2022/05/10/jrheum.211316.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2022/05/10/jrheum.211316.full
AB  - Objective To investigate the relationship between age and symptom duration at initial presentation to pediatric rheumatology for juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA). Methods In children and young people (CYP) enrolled in the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study prior to March 2018, an association between age at presentation (< 5, 5–11, and > 11 yrs) and symptom duration was tested by multivariable linear regression. Results In 1577 CYP, 5- to 11-year-olds took 3.2 months longer and > 11-year-olds 6.9 months longer to reach pediatric rheumatology than < 5-year-olds. Conclusion Adolescents take longer to reach pediatric rheumatology, potentially affecting their longer-term outcomes given the window of opportunity for JIA treatment.