Risk factors for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: exposure to tobacco and environmental factors during and before pregnancy

Introduction Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of chronic arthritis that occurs in susceptible subjects and may be related to environmental triggers. In this regard, air pollution could be a potential contributor to autoimmune diseases onset and flare, as it has been recently reported by our group in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis patients, and was rarely studied in JIA population.