{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T23:44:16Z","timestamp":1782431056265,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753833600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NIH\/National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) UCLA CTSI","award":["UL1TR001881"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UL1TR001881"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Youth with chronic rheumatologic diseases undergo medical experiences that can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understudied in pediatric rheumatology, medical PTSD can be significantly distressing and impairing. Objective: This study explored the prevalence of medical PTSD symptoms in youth with chronic inflammatory arthritis and associated factors, including pain, disease activity, mental health history, and anxiety sensitivity. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 50 youth (ages 8\u201318) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematous (cSLE) was conducted at a pediatric rheumatology clinic. Participants completed self-report measures assessing post-traumatic stress symptoms (CPSS-V), pain, anxiety sensitivity (CASI), pain-related self-efficacy (CSES), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and fibromyalgia symptoms (PSAT). Clinical data included diagnoses, disease activity, treatment history, and demographics. Results: Forty percent had trauma symptoms in the moderate or more severe range. The 14% likely meeting criteria for probable medical PTSD were older (median 17 vs. 15 years, p = 0.005), had higher pain scores (median 4 vs. 3, p = 0.008), more ACEs (median 3 vs. 1, p = 0.005), higher anxiety sensitivity scores (median 39 vs. 29, p = 0.008), and higher JIA disease activity scores (median cJADAS-10 11.5 vs. 7.5, p = 0.032). They were also more likely to report a history of depression (71 vs. 23%, p = 0.020). No associations were found with hospitalization or injected\/IV medication use. Conclusions: Medical trauma symptoms are prevalent in youth with chronic inflammatory arthritis. Probable PTSD was associated with pain and psychological distress. These findings support the need for trauma-informed care in pediatric rheumatology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children12081004","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T10:55:37Z","timestamp":1753872937000},"page":"1004","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Medical Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Inflammatory Arthritis: Prevalence and Associated Factors"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Leah","family":"Medrano","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"David Geffen School of Medicine, Pediatric Rheumatology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brenda","family":"Bursch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"David Geffen School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Pediatrics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8954-1326","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer E.","family":"Weiss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Rheumatology, Joseph M. Sanzari Children\u2019s Hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ 07601, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicholas","family":"Jackson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"David Geffen School of Medicine, Medicine Statistics Core, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8914-3523","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deborah","family":"McCurdy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"David Geffen School of Medicine, Pediatric Rheumatology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alice","family":"Hoftman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"David Geffen School of Medicine, Pediatric Rheumatology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1186\/s12969-022-00674-x","article-title":"Exploring the intersection of adverse childhood experiences, pediatric chronic pain, and rheumatic disease","volume":"20","author":"Sonagra","year":"2022","journal-title":"Pediatr. 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