title: US incidence of juvenile dermatomyositis, 1995-1998: results from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Registry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the incidence of juvenile dermatomyositis (juvenile DM) in the United States between 1995 and 1998.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physician referrals to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Juvenile Dermatomyositis Research Registry and the National Pediatric Rheumatology Disease Registry from Indiana University were utilized for a 2-source capture-recapture estimation of Juvenile DM annual incidence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For children 2-17 years of age, the estimated annual incidence rates from 1995 to 1998 in the US ranged from 2.5 to 4.1 juvenile DM cases per million children, and the 4-year average annual rate was 3.2 per million children (95% confidence interval 2.9-3.4). Estimated annual incidence rates by race were 3.4 for white non-Hispanics, 3.3 for African American non-Hispanics, and 2.7 for Hispanics. During the 4-year period of the study, completeness of ascertainment for the combined registries ranged from 56% to 86% and girls were affected more than boys (ratio 2.3:1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides evidence for sex, and possibly racial differences in the risk of juvenile DM in the US.
authors.affiliation: Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Eduardo P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lipton
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramsey-Goldman
authors.forename: Phil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roettcher
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bowyer
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pachman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003882:Dermatomyositis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D012042:Registries; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology