Juvenile idiopathic arthritis and the temporomandibular joint: a case-control study of magnetic resonance imaging findings in relation to clinical and psychosocial factors.

Abstract

In juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a particularly challenging joint to assess both clinically and with imaging. The aim of this article is to investigate TMJ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in relation to clinical and psychosocial factors in patients with JIA and healthy individuals related to TMJ arthritis in JIA. In total, 45 patients (6-16 years) with JIA and 16 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were examined according to the diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders (DC/TMD). The subjects answered questionnaires about psychosocial factors (pain intensity, pain-related disability, depression, stress, catastrophising, pain locations, and jaw function) and underwent bilateral MRI of the TMJ. This study indicates a substantial overlap of TMJ MRI findings in both the inflammatory domain and the damage domain between JIA patients and healthy individuals. In JIA patients, the inflammatory MRI sign of bone marrow oedema seems to influence orofacial pain intensity.