HLA-B27 Predicts a More Chronic Disease Course in an 8-year Followup Cohort of Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Abstract

In this near population-based Nordic JIA cohort we found significant differences between HLA-B27-positive boys and girls in age at disease onset, clinical signs of sacroiliitis, and ERA classification. HLA-B27 was negatively associated with longterm remission status, possibly because of its association with clinical disease characteristics, such as sacroiliitis, rather than being a general marker of persistent disease.