Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Management of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Analysis of United States Commercial Insurance Data

Abstract

Background/Objective Given limited information on health care and treatment utilization for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) during the pandemic, we studied JIA-related health care and treatment utilization in a commercially insured retrospective US cohort. Methods We studied rates of outpatient visits, new disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) initiations, intra-articular glucocorticoid injections (iaGC), dispensed oral glucocorticoids and opioids, DMARD adherence, and DMARD discontinuation by quarter in March 2018–February 2021 (Q1 started in March). Incident rate ratios (IRR, pandemic vs prepandemic) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariable Poisson or Quasi-Poisson models stratified by diagnosis recency (incident JIA, <12 months ago; prevalent JIA, ≥12 months ago). Results Among 1294 children diagnosed with JIA, total and in-person outpatient visits for JIA declined during the pandemic (IRR, 0.88–0.90), most markedly in Q1 2020. Telemedicine visits, while higher during the pandemic, declined from 21% (Q1) to 13% (Q4) in 2020 to 2021. During the pandemic, children with prevalent JIA, but not incident JIA, had lower usage of iaGC (IRR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.34–1.07), oral glucocorticoids (IRR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.33–0.67), and opioids (IRR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.26–0.75). Adherence to and discontinuation of DMARDs was similar before and during the pandemic. Conclusions In the first year of the pandemic, visits for JIA dropped by 10% to 12% in commercially insured children in the United States, declines partly mitigated by use of telemedicine. Pandemic-related declines in intra-articular glucocorticoids, oral glucocorticoids, and opioids were observed for children with prevalent, but not incident, JIA. These changes may have important implications for disease control and quality of life.