Children with polyarticular juvenile arthritis participate less in school and social activities because of feelings of pain, stiffness, and fatigue. Growing up and going through the "typical" changes can be hard enough on children, but those with polyarticular arthritis (involvement in more than one joint) seem to suffer in more ways than just physical pain. Laura Schanberg and colleague's results were published in the May 2003 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

41 young patients maintained daily diaries for two months to document their levels of symptoms and functional ability. Each patient underwent a total of five patient examinations - one at the beginning of the study and four additional times throughout the study period. Exams included joint counts, lab testing, and questionnaires to evaluate physical and psychosocial functioning.

Patients reported feeling pain an average of 73% of the days tested, and 76% of the children reported feeling pain on more than 60% of all days. On average, the intensity of daily pain fell in the mild-to-moderate range, but 31% of all patients reported severe pain. Higher daily pain and other symptoms were significantly associated with increased functional disability and anxiety.

Treating pain more aggressively in children with arthritis is extremely important for physicians to do in helping preserve patient function in school and social activities, recommends the study authors. In addition to standard medication treatment, optimal pain management in these children should include therapeutic regimens addressing anxiety as well.