Any child can suffer from juvenile arthritis according to studies approximately one child in every 1,000 in a given year can develop arthritis (but most of them are mild) and about one child in every 10,000 will develop severe arthritis. There are no clear risk factors for juvenile arthritis but certain factors which increase the risk of arthritis include;
Family history: In a study relatives of children with JIA were observed to have higher occurrence of other autoimmune diseases. This suggests that their genetic makeup increases their risk of autoimmune diseases, including JIA. However many children who have JIA have no family history of the disease.
Sex: Juvenile arthritis is more common in girls as compared to boys.
Race: The risk of juvenile arthritis appears to be higher in white children than in black or Asian children.
Smoking: Some evidence suggests that the risk of JIA is increased by maternal smoking during pregnancy.
Infection: Certain infections probably increase the risk of JIA in children and RA in adults. However conclusive evidence for role of infection in JIA is not present.
