Background: This study aimed to identify epidemiologic data, including prevalence and incidence, of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in accordance with the diseases diagnostic code and Rare Intractable Disease Registration (RIDR) code from the claims data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), the representative secondary data in Korea.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the national claims data of the HIRA. The study population included 1,728 patients with JIA who 1) had records with diagnostic codes in the format prescribed by the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision M08 and the RIDR code V133 between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2019, and 2) were aged < 16 years as per the definition of JIA. We categorized the patients by age at diagnosis, annual prevalence, and incidence per 100,000 individuals for the study period. Moreover, the study population was stratified by age and gender for subgroup analysis.
Results: The overall prevalence rate for the total, male, and female population was 15.9 (14.5-16.8), 15.4 (13.1-17.0), and 16.4 (15.9-16.9) per 100,000 individuals, respectively. Additionally, the overall incidence rate for the same populations was 2.2 (1.8-2.8), 2.3 (1.7-2.9), and 2.1 (1.8-2.6) per 100,000 individuals, respectively.
Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study presenting the epidemiologic data, including prevalence and incidence, of patients with JIA using population-based claims big data in Korea. The results of this study will aid in understanding the current status of JIA in Korea and Asia and in health care planning.
Keywords: Incidence; Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis; National Claims Data; Prevalence.
© 2025 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.