Background: Ethnic information regarding juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) exists for various populations across the world but is fully lacking for Roma. We assessed the occurrence and clinical characteristics of JIA in Roma vs. non-Roma children. Methods: We obtained data on all outpatients (n = 142) from a paediatric rheumatology centre (age 3 to 18 years) in the eastern part of Slovakia (Kosice region). We assessed patients' age, gender, disease type and related extra-articular conditions by ethnicity. We obtained population data from the 2011 census. Results: The share of Roma children was higher in the clinical JIA sample than in the overall population (24.6%, n = 35, Roma in the sample vs. 10.8%, n = 142, Roma in the population, p < 0.05). Moreover, Roma children had been diagnosed more frequently with extra-articular conditions but did not differ in other symptoms. Treatments also did not differ by ethnicity. Conclusion: Roma children had been diagnosed more with JIA than their non-Roma peers. This calls for further research on the causes of this increased disease burden in Roma children.

2nd Intenal Clinic Faculty of Medicine University PJ Safarik 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Department of Community and Occupational Medicine University of Groningen University Medical Center Groningen Ant Deusinglaan 1 9713 AV Groningen The Netherlands

Department of Health Psychology Faculty of Medicine P J Safarik University Tr SNP 1 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine Faculty of Medicine P J Safarik University Tr SNP 1 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health Faculty of Medicine P J Safarik University Tr SNP 1 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Mathematics Faculty of Natural Sciences P J Safarik University Tr SNP 1 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Olomouc University Social Health Institute Palacky University Univerzitni 22 771 11 Olomouc Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Generaly E., Ceribelli A., Stazi M.A., Selmi C. Lessons learned from twins in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disease. Int. J. Autoimmun. 2017;83:51–61. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2017.04.005. PubMed DOI

Mastaglia F.L., Phillips B.A. Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: Epidemiology, classification, and diagnostic criteria. Rheum. Dis. Clin. N. Am. 2002;28:723–741. doi: 10.1016/S0889-857X(02)00021-2. PubMed DOI

Hemke R., Nusman C.M., van der Heijde D.M., Doria A.S., Kuijpers T.W., Maas M., van Rossum M.A. Frequency of joint involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis during a 5-year follow-up of newly diagnosed patients: Implications for MR imaging as outcome measure. Rheumatol. Int. 2015;35:351–357. doi: 10.1007/s00296-014-3108-x. PubMed DOI

Thiery S., Fautrel B., Lemelle I., Guilleman F. Prevalence and incidence of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: The systemic review. Joint Bone Spine. 2014;81:112–117. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2013.09.003. PubMed DOI

Saurenmann R.K., Rose J.B., Tyrell P., Feldman B.M., Laxer R.M., Schneider R., Silverman E.D. Epidemiology of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in a Multiethnic Cohort. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;56:1974–1984. Kalaydjieva, L.; Gresham, D.; Calafell, F. Genetic studies of the Roma (Gypsies): A review. BMC Med. Genet.2001, 2, 5. PubMed

Mušinka A., Škobla D., Hurrle J., Matlovičová K., Kling J. An Atlas of Roma Communities in Slovakia 2013 (Atlas Rómskych Komunít na Slovensku 2013) UNDP; Bratislava, Slovakia: 2014. (In Slovak)

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights . Survey Results at a Glance. UNDP; Luxembourg: 2012. [(accessed on 23 May 2012)]. The situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States. Available online: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/2099-FRA-2012-Roma-at-a-glance_EN.pdf.

Filadelfiova J., Gerbery D. Report on the Living Conditions of Roma Households in Slovakia 2010. 1st ed. UNDP; Bratislava, Slovakia: 2012. pp. 81–90.

Jarcuska P., Bobakova D., Uhrin J., Bobak L., Babinska I., Kolarcik P., Veselska Z., Geckova A.M. Are barriers in accessing health services in the Roma population associated with worse health status among Roma? Int. J. Public Health. 2013;58:427–434. doi: 10.1007/s00038-013-0451-8. PubMed DOI

Belak A., Geckova A.M., van Dijk J.P., Reijneveld S.A. Health-endangering everyday settings and practices in a rural segregated Roma settlement in Slovakia: A descriptive summary from an exploratory longitudinal case study. BMC Public Health. 2017;17:9–15. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4029-x. PubMed DOI PMC

Krumrey-Langkammerer M., Häfner R. Evaluation of the ILAR criteria for juvenile idiopathic arthritis. J. Rheumatol. 2001;28:2544–2547. PubMed

Williams D.R., Mohammed S.A. Discrimination and racial disparities in health: Evidence and needed research. J. Behav. Med. 2009;32:20–47. doi: 10.1007/s10865-008-9185-0. PubMed DOI PMC

Kanapeckiene V., Valinteliene R., Berzanskyte A., Kevalas R., Supranowicz P. Health of Roma children in Vilnius and Ventspils. Medicina. 2009;45:153–161. doi: 10.3390/medicina45020020. PubMed DOI

Belak A., Geckova A.M., van Dijk J.P., Reijneveld S.A. Do my Roma and non-Roma patients need different care? A brief step-by-step guideline for clinical practitioners. Int. J. Public Health. 2019;64:1117–1121. doi: 10.1007/s00038-019-01246-9. PubMed DOI PMC

Vivian C., Dundes L. The crossroads of culture and health among the Roma (Gypsies) J. Nurs. Scholarsh. 2004;36:89–91. doi: 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2004.04018.x. PubMed DOI

Kolvek G., Podracka L., Rosenberger J., Stewart R.E., van Dijk J.P., Reijneveld S.A. Kidney diseases in Roma and non-Roma children from eastern Slovakia: Are Roma children more at risk? Int. J. Public Health. 2014;59:1023–1026. doi: 10.1007/s00038-014-0609-z. PubMed DOI

Michos A., Terzidis A., Kalampoki V., Pantelakis K., Spanos T., Petridou E.T. Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Hepatitis A, B, and C among Roma and Non-Roma Children in a Deprived Area of Athens, Greece. J. Med. Virol. 2008;80:791–797. doi: 10.1002/jmv.21134. PubMed DOI

Rosicova K., Madarasova Geckova A., van Dijk J.P., Kollarova J., Rosic M., Groothoff J.W. Regional socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity as predictors of regional infant mortality rate in Slovakia. Int. J. Public Health. 2011;56:523–531. doi: 10.1007/s00038-010-0199-3. PubMed DOI PMC

Dostal M., Topinka J., Sram R.J. Comparison of the health of Roma and non-Roma children living in the district of Teplice. Int. J. Public Health. 2010;55:435–441. doi: 10.1007/s00038-010-0133-8. PubMed DOI

Rambouskova J., Dlouhý P., Krizova E., Procházka B., Hrncirova D., Andel M. Health behaviors, nutritional status, and anthropometric parameters of Roma and non-Roma mothers and their infants in the Czech Republic. J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 2009;41:58–64. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2008.04.360. PubMed DOI

Chen E., Schreier H.M., Strunk R.C., Brauer M. Chronic traffic-related air pollution and stress interact to predict biologic and clinical outcomes in asthma. Environ. Health Perspect. 2008;116:972–975. doi: 10.1289/ehp.11076. PubMed DOI PMC

Carlens C., Jacobsson L., Brandt L., Cnattingius S., Stephansson O., Askling J. Perinatal characteristics, early life infections and later risk of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2009;68:1159–1164. doi: 10.1136/ard.2008.089342. PubMed DOI

Jaakkola J.J., Gissler M. Maternal smoking in pregnancy as a determinant of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory polyarthropathies during the first 7 years of life. Int. J. Epidemiol. 2005;34:664–671. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyi006. PubMed DOI

Manzano-Gamero V., Pardo-Cabello A.J., Vargas-Hitos J.A., Zamora-Pasadas M., Navarrete-Navarrete N., Sabio J.M., Jáimez-Gámiz L., de Ramón E. Effect of ethnicity on clinical presentation and risk of antiphospholipid syndrome in Roma and Caucasian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A multicenter cross-sectional study. Int. J. Rheum. Dis. 2018;21:2028–2035. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.13117. PubMed DOI

Popper M., Szegy P., Sarkozy S. An Analyses of the Situation in Slovakia (Rómska Populácia a Zdravie: Analýza Situácie na Slovensku) PDCS; Bratislava, Slovakia: 2009. Roma population and health; pp. 31–43. (In Slovak)

Sprocha B. Reproduction of Roma Population in Slovakia and the Prognosis of its Population Evolution (Reprodukcia Rómskeho Obyvateľstva na Slovensku a Prognóza Jeho Populačného Vývoja) Institute of Forecasting of Slovak Academy Of Science; Bratislava, Slovakia: 2014. [(accessed on 1 February 2014)]. pp. 39–90. Available online: http://www.infostat.sk/vdc/pdf/Romovia.pdf. (In Slovak)