Prevalence of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt: epidemiological study.

Our objective was to determine the prevalence juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. Population-based study was performed to identify the prevalence of JIA in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, between November 2009 and November 2010. Prevalence of JIA was 3.43 per 100,000 (95 % CI 3.1-4.3). Prevalence in boys was 2.58 per 100,000 (95 % CI 2.4-3.6) and in girls 4.33 per 100,000 (95 % CI 3.3-5.1). Uveitis presented in 19.7 % of cases, antinuclear antibody in 48.5 %, and rheumatoid factor in 27.2 %. Oligoarthritis representing 52.2 % of the total population, and enthesitis-related arthritis presented only in 6 patients. No cases of undifferentiated arthritis or psoriatic arthritis were found. This is the first epidemiological study of JIA in Sharkia, Egypt. Oligoarthritis was the most common subtype.