Digital Interventions for Patients With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic rheumatic condition requiring long-term, multidisciplinary treatment, which consumes significant health care resources and family energy. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of digital interventions on patient outcomes in individuals with JIA.

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of digital interventions on alleviating symptoms and improving overall well-being in children and adolescents with JIA.

Methods: A systematic search of 5 databases identified randomized controlled trials assessing the impact of digital interventions on physiological and psychological outcomes in adolescents and children (average age ≤19 y). Outcomes included pain, physical activity, health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, and disease-related issues. A total of 2 reviewers independently screened papers and extracted data on intervention functionalities and outcomes, assessing the risk of bias. A meta-analysis using a random-effects model synthesized the results.

Results: The review included 11 studies involving 885 patients with JIA. Digital interventions included educational (eg, self-management training), therapeutic (eg, pain management), and behavioral (eg, promoting physical activity) approaches. These were delivered through websites, telephone consultations, video conferences, apps, and interactive games, with durations ranging from 8 to 24 weeks and no clear link observed between intervention length and outcomes. Compared with conventional control groups, digital interventions were significantly effective in alleviating pain (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.19, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.04) and enhancing physical activity levels (SMD 0.37, 95% CI 0.06-0.69). Marginal improvements in health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, and disease-related issues were observed, but these did not reach statistical significance (SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.19 to 0.11; SMD 0.05, 95% CI -0.11 to 0.20; and SMD 0.09, 95% CI -0.11 to 0.29, respectively). The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach rated the quality of evidence for pain, health-related quality of life, self-efficacy, and disease-related issues as moderate, while the evidence quality for physical activity was assessed as low.

Conclusions: Digital interventions can alleviate pain and enhance physical activity in patients with JIA. However, given the limited sample size and high risk of bias in some studies, further high-quality research is needed to improve the treatment and management of JIA.