JIA is the most common type of arthritis diagnosed in young people under the age of 16. Over the age of 16 years, particularly in young adulthood, other types of arthritis may be diagnosed such as ankylosing spondylitis and adult rheumatoid arthritis.
Because the names for the different kinds of arthritis have changed over time we found that people used different words to describe the type of arthritis they had. We also found that some people did not know what kind of arthritis they had and simply referred to themselves as having “chronic” (meaning long-term) or “juvenile” arthritis. It is important to know the correct type of arthritis as the outlook for the different types of arthritis is not the same