Arthritis of the spine often overlooked i...( When kids or teens experience aching jo...),Health

When kids or teens experience aching joints and stiffness it may be more than growing pains. It may be arthritis of the spine and other joints (ankylosing spondylitis), which researchers report can often go undiagnosed for years and years, leading to serious problems in adulthood. The findings, generated from a national life impact study and reported in the June 15 issue of Arthritis Care and Research, highlight a need for increased awareness and earlier treatment of the disease.

"Many children can have arthritis of the spine for years, but it can go overlooked and untreated," said Robert Warren, M.D., one of the publication authors, chief of rheumatology services at Texas Children's Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. ""We need to diagnose their illnesses early and provide appropriate medications and other therapy. With early diagnosis and proper treatment, a 13-year-old--who may otherwise go undiagnosed--can experience significant relief of symptoms and potentially minimize or avoid disease-related disability later in life."

The life impact study was commissioned by the Spondylitis Association of America and involved more than 2,000 ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Results were collected from a mail survey distributed in 2002, which gathered a range of information including analysis of work-related disability, functional impairment, self-reported quality of life and spinal involvement. Results from the study were analyzed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Millicent Stone, University of Toronto. In addition to a delay in diagnosis, the researchers report that adults with childhood onset disease experience more serious physical deformity and work-related disability than those who develop the disease as adults.

"By surveying individuals with AS, we have learned that many people visit multiple doctors before receiving a diagnosis and that adults with childhood onset disease experience much gre
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Contact: Jennifer Hart
jxhart@texaschildrenshospital.org
832-824-2111
Texas Children's Hospital
15-Jun-2005

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