Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common arthropathy of childhood that may lead to physical disability and reduced quality of life, thus hindering the ability of the patients to achieve a meaningful adult life.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the trends of the disease and socio-professional future.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study including adult patients aged > 18 years with a history of JIA according to the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR). Collected data included age, sex, the characteristics of the disease (subtype of JIA, disease duration). The level of education, marital status as well as the profession were recorded.

Results: The study included 32 patients with a female perdominance: sex ratio was 1,5. The mean age was 29,5 years old [18-64]. The mean age of onset of the disease was 6 years and 2 months [2-17]. The frequency of each JIA subset was at follows: polyarticular with rheumatoid factor (n= 14), polyarticular without rheumatoid factor (n=9), systemic (n= 2), enthesitis-related arthritis (n=7), oligoarthritis (n= 5). Four patients suffered from bilateral cataract due to corticosteroid intake. Polyarticular RF+ and RF- progressed into an authentic seropositive and seronegative RA in 71.4% and 66.7% respectively. Among oligoarticular subtype, an extension of the disease to a polyarticular FR+ form (n=1) and to a seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (n=1) was noted. Systemic JIA forms remained in remission with an articular involvement. All the patients with ERA developed spondylarthritis. Although forty–two percent of the patients were married, only half of them had children. Ten percent of patients stopped attending school because of disease flares and deformation. A university level was found in 16% of cases. Only Thirty patients had a profession. Of the patients, 74.4% had received disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and 36.3% of them were still taking a DMARD. Ten patients were on biologics. Severe disability was found in 20% of patients and concerned mainly the hip (57,2%), the wrist (28,5%) and the elbows (14,3%). Prosthetic joint replacement was found in 2% of cases with a revision of the latter in one patient.

Conclusion: Adults with JIA often have significant levels of disability, usually related to severe joint complications. There is a clear requirement for a better transition to adulthood and a socio-professional rehabilitation.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared