JAFA welcomes the release on June 7, 2023 of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) latest report on the status of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Key findings from the report state:
- There are an estimated 18,500 to 30,100 Australians aged 0–24 living with arthritis
- This suggests juvenile arthritis is about as common as diabetes in Australia with an estimated to 24,700 children and young adults (aged 0–24) with diabetes
- The rate of arthritis among children aged 0–14 is estimated at 86 per 100,000
- There were 2,200 juvenile arthritis hospitalisations for people aged 0–24 in 2020-21 with one third of these people hospitalised multiple times
- The number of hospitalisations due to juvenile arthritis increased by 5.6% per year on average.
- There is a critical shortage of paediatric rheumatologists across Australia, particularly in rural and remote regions, leaving children without access to local paediatric rheumatology care.
As the federal government agency responsible for monitoring the health of the nation, the AIHW uses a variety of existing data sources to develop a profile of the extent, distribution and impact of specific diseases on the Australian population.
The report concluded that the true diseases burden and cost attributable to juvenile arthritis could not be assessed due to lack of data.
View the report here: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/juvenile-arthritis
