Sex Differences in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, and Psychological Stress Among Children and Adolescents Living With Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases
Authors' conclusion
Girls self-reported worse symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological stress compared to boys. Significant sex differences persisted after adjusting for rheumatic disease activity, time, and other pertinent variables.
Study context
- Population
- Children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) from the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Registry393 JIA, 58 cSLE
- Exposure
- Girls vs boys
- Outcome
- PROMIS pediatric self-report Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety (3 timepoints over 12 months) and Psychological Stress (baseline)
- Follow-up
- 12 months
Methodological detailsmulticentre, linear mixed effect models
- Multicentre
- Linear mixed effect models
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
PROMIS Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety and Psychological Stress scores
- Scores higher (poorer mental health symptoms) for girls than boys
- LMMs: significantly higher scores for girls than boys, generally exceeding the minimally important difference threshold
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Moderate-to-severe Depressive Symptoms and Psychological Stress · baseline
- Girls with JIA
- ≈1 in 3
- Girls with cSLE
- 1 in 2
- Boys with JIA or cSLE
- ≈1 in 6
Original publication
Sex Differences in PROMIS Pediatric Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, and Psychological Stress Among Children and Adolescents Living With Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases. J Rheumatol. Published 15 January 2026. doi:10.
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