As many as 4,600 Australian children affected by juvenile arthritis

Experts say as many as 4,600 Australian children under the age of 16 suffer from juvenile arthritis.

Juvenile arthritis is thought to be caused by a reaction of the body against its own joint tissues - it is a highly disabling condition which demands a great deal of care and stops many sufferers from performing physical activities and attending school regularly and has many ramifications, both social and psychological.

A new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) gathers together the latest data on the disease and highlights the impact of arthritis on children.

Report author Dr. Naila Rahman says juvenile arthritis is not just a 'mini' version of adult arthritis but is considerably different from the adult form of the disease and because it starts in childhood juvenile arthritis affects the growth and development of the child.

Dr. Rahman says this means there is usually a greater and long-term need for health care services.

Dr. Rahman says the disease itself and the medication regime required to control it, can alter children's physical appearance - such as underdeveloped jaw bones, shortened fingers, forearms, toes or feet.

Dr. Kuldeep Bhatia, Head of the AIHW's National Centre for Monitoring Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Conditions, says an estimated 1,600 Australian children are disabled as a result of their arthritis, mainly because of chronic or recurrent pain and severe activity limitation.

Almost 70% of them experience restricted physical activity or inability to do physical work and children with arthritis are more likely to have days away from school and days of reduced activity compared to other children.

Dr. Bhatia says many children with juvenile arthritis go into remission but between 10 to 20% enter adulthood with active disease and in some cases the disease recurs in adulthood.

According to the report, almost 22,000 Australian adults were diagnosed with arthritis in childhood, and the physical impairments experienced by these adults are more pronounced than in those who were diagnosed as adults.