A recent study published in the September 2008 issue of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases states that juvenile-onset ankylosing spondylitis is more often associated with peripheral joint involvement when compared to adult-onset AS.

Like findings we reported from another study on juvenile AS (click here), this study again found that adult-onset AS was associated with "worse functional and quality of life measures, and higher fatigue scores."

However, unlike the previous study that suggested that juvenile AS seemed to have a higher rate of occurrence among women, this study finds that, "There were no differences in gender ratio."

The study's abstract concludes, "JoAS follows a distinctive clinical course from its AoAS counterpart. Furthermore, these clinical features are dictated by factors other than male gender and HLA-B27 and warrant further investigation."

To read this study's abstract, click here.

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