Epidemiology of juvenile chronic arthritis and other connective tissue diseases among children in Kuwait.

An 8-year hospital-based retrospective study on the epidemiology of juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other connective tissue diseases among children in Kuwait is described. There were 108 children with JCA, 20 children with SLE, 23 children with other connective tissue diseases and 24 children with arthritis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). The average annual incidence of JCA was 2.84 cases/10(5) children under the age of 12 years and the 1988 prevalence was 18.7/10(5). The polyarticular, systemic and oligoarticular onset types were observed in 42, 29 and 29%, respectively. The incidence and prevalence of SLE were 0.53 and 3.37/10(5), respectively. The findings are compared with those from other countries.