Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

There are scanty data on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relation to disease activity among patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in the middle east and North Africa. To assess serum 25 (OH)D level in Egyptian children with JIA and compare its level with healthy age and sex-matched controls, correlation between subtype of JIA and seum level of vitamin D in patints with JIA and correlation between vitamin D level and disease activity scoring in patients with JIA. It is a cross sectional study for measuring 25(OH) D levels in 70 patients with JIA and 40 healthy control children. The patients underwent anthropometric assessment and clinical evaluation. Disease activity was measured using the disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) for polyarticular and oligoarticular JIA. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin [25(OH)D] was measured using enzyme linked Immune sorbent assay (ELISA) technique. 25(OH)D deficiency was observed in 70% of patients. Serum 25(OH)D was significantly lower in JIA patients than control group. Serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly correlated with the duration of delayed diagnosis between disease onset and diagnosis and inversely correlated with number of affected joints, and severity score but with no statistically significant difference. Our study concluded that serum levels of 25(OH)D were lower in patients with JIA disease than controls group. Also, the levels of vitamin D were correlated with the disease activity of JIA in patients but with no statistically significant difference. Future studies with a larger population are needed to confirm the relation between vitamin D and JIA disease activity

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