The majority of newly diagnosed patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis reach an inactive disease state within the first year of specialised care: data from a German inception cohort.

The 12-month outcome of JIA was good under real-life conditions, with half of the patients having attained inactive disease with contemporary treatments. Since a short duration between symptom onset and diagnosis was correlated to a period of inactive disease, children suspected of having JIA should be transferred to specialised care as soon as possible.