Extended report
Incidence and prevalence of juvenile arthritis in an urban
population of southern Germany: a prospective study
St von Koskulla, H Truckenbrodta, R Holleb, A Hörmannb
a Rheuma-Kinderklinik
der Rummelsberger Anstalten, Gehfeldstrasse 24, D-82467 Garmisch-
Partenkirchen, Germany, b GSF Forschungszentrum, Institut für
Medizinische Informatik und Systemforschung, D-85764 Neuherberg,
Germany
Correspondence to: Dr von Koskull rheuma-kinderklinik{at}t-online.de
Accepted for publication 22 March 2001
OBJECTIVE
To ascertain
the incidence and prevalence of juvenile arthritis in a German urban population.
METHODSAll 766 paediatricians, orthopaedists, and rheumatologists working in practices
or outpatient clinics in 12 south German towns were asked to report all
patients who consulted them for juvenile arthritis during the year
1995. Patients with continuing symptoms were followed up for 9-12
months to obtain a final diagnosis. Extended measures of quality
control were taken to control for known biases.
RESULTSOf 457 reported cases, 294 were diagnosed with para-/postinfectious arthritis
(PPA), 78 with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), and 18 with other
forms of arthritis. Half of the PPA cases were classified as transient
synovitis of the hip (SH). For JCA the reported annual incidence was
6.6 and the prevalence 14.8 per 100 000 subjects under 16 years of
age. For PPA the reported incidence was 76 and the prevalence 4.4 per
100 000 subjects under 16. The incidence of rheumatic fever was
clearly below 1 per 100 000 people under 16. A correction model was
used to control for known biases and to adjust the estimates accordingly.
CONCLUSIONSThe
results of this first prospective study on the incidence and prevalence
of juvenile arthritis in Germany are consistent with a retrospective
study performed in the Berlin area. Based on these results it was
estimated that the annual frequency of juvenile arthritis in Germany is
as follows: 750-900 incident JCA cases, 21 000 incident SH cases, and
21 000 incidence cases of other forms of PPA a year. The number of
incidence cases of rheumatic fever is expected to be markedly lower
than 150 a year. The total prevalence is expected to be 3600-4350 JCA
cases, 2250-3000 SH cases, and the same number of other forms of PPA.
© 2001 by Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
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