Innovation

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA; the word 'idiopathic ' means the cause is unknown), is the most common class of childhood rheumatic diseases.  Previous reports suggest that children with JIA are more likely to have suboptimal  vitamin D concentrations compared to healthy controls. It is unknown if low vitamin D concentrations in some children with JIA are a consequence of reduced dietary intake, medication effect, increased utilization related to more disease activity, environmental exposures, or a combination of these factors.  It also is unknown if optimizing vitamin D status in children with JIA could contribute to improved disease control alternatively, if improved disease control is associated with optimization of vitamin D status. The IDEA Lab is undertaking studies to answer these questions. We have shown that Canadian children with JIA tend to have adequate levels of vitamin D and that these adequate levels are associated with taking vitamin D supplements. 

Discovery

In a review of the international literature, the IDEA Lab has shown that children with JIA have inadequate levels of vitamin D.  Read more. We have shown that Canadian children with JIA tend to have adequate levels of vitamin D and that these adequate levels are associated with taking vitamin D supplements and might be related to the season of birth. Read more.

Studies are currently underway to investigate associations between vitamin D and JIA disease activity and associations with genetic variations of the vitamin D receptor.