Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common arthropathy of childhood. Different diseases\r\naffect school attendance to varying degrees. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of juvenile idiopathic\r\narthritis (JIA) on Moroccan children�s schooling.\r\nMethods: Thirty-three children with JIA were included in this study, having been previously diagnosed according\r\nto the classification criteria of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR). Seventy-four\r\nhealthy children were recruited to serve as controls. Data was obtained for all children on their school level,\r\neducational performance, and attendance. The rate of absenteeism due to health complications was noted.\r\nResults: All healthy children were able to attend school (p<0.0001), while 33% of children with JIA were unable to\r\nattend school due to their condition. The students with JIA who were able to attend school were absent much\r\nmore often than controls (63% compared to 20%), with a highly significant p value (p<0.0001). Slightly less than\r\nhalf of the JIA patients (48.5%) failed in their schooling. In univariate analysis, there was an association between\r\nabsenteeism and tender joints (p=0.02), disease activity score (DAS28) (p=0.007), Childhood Health Assessment\r\nQuestionnaire (CHAQ) (p=0.01), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (p=0.03). In multivariate analysis, the only\r\nassociation persisted between DAS28 and absenteeism.\r\nConclusions: Our study suggested that the schooling of children with JIA was negatively impacted due to the\r\ndisorder. More studies, with a larger sample of children, are needed to confirm our findings.
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