Psychosomatic aspects of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of psychopathological symptoms and distorted family relationships in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). The study also evaluated the significance of life stress factors in the etiology of the illness. The series consisted of 54 children with JRA, 16 males and 38 females, who were investigated with regard to psychiatric, psychological and rheumatological variables. The mean age of the patients was 9.9 years, and the average length of the investigation period per patient was 49.7 days. In addition, 43 mothers, 20 fathers and 14 siblings of the patients were studied. It is concluded that classification of the patients with JRA into two categories is justified: patients with hereditary predisposition to illness in whom the disease is less influenced by environmental changes, and patients with less hereditary predisposition in whom the onset of the disease is associated with psychodynamic conflict situations.