Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: a medical and social profile of non-Indian and Indian children.

Seventy children, 57 non-Indian and 13 Indian, referred to a juvenile arthritis clinic in British Columbia are studied from the viewpoint of clinical characteristics and social background. The object was to explore relationships between social milieu and disease. Clinical findings were typical of those reported in other series. A high incidence of iritis (33%) in cases of monoarticular onset is emphasized. A qualification of Steinbrocker's functional classification is proposed to facilitate assignment of children to these classes. The Indian families were markedly disadvantaged and arthritis was more severe in the Indian children. They comprised 18.6% of the series whereas the proportion of Indians in the total child population of British Columbia is only 3.6%, suggesting the possibility of a higher incidence in this racial group.