Jack is a fun-loving 7 year old boy who is active on his baseball team and enjoys riding his bike after school. He looks and acts like any other kid, but Jack lives with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, or JIA. Diagnosed within the last year, he has found that the disease can be controlled and his active lifestyle is not affected. At age 26, Jill finally told her doctor about her worsening joint pain and inflammation in her hands and wrists. Having noticed symptoms over the past few years, she was shocked to learn that they were the result of an autoimmune disease known as rheumatoid arthritis, or RA. With no other medical history, she has also taken the necessary steps to ensure a healthy lifestyle. Jack and Jill are not alone. It is estimated that one in a thousand children will develop JIA (Abramson, 2013) and more than 1.3 million Americans live with RA (Ruderman and Tambar, 2012). There are significant advances in these diseases in the promotion of lifelong health and well-being and in the roles and responsibilities of medical staff as well as patients living happy and healthy lives with arthritis. This article will compare and contrast the different aspects of these diseases based on age, diagnostic processes, risk factors and treatment, based on scientific evidence. The age difference Like many children his age, Jack's day begins in a classroom with colored pencils. , markers and scissors. For a school-age child, making projects to take home may be part of the day, but a difficult day due to stiffness and pain can make using scissors almost impossible. Last year he often refused to use his scissors and seemed reluctant to finish his ...... middle of paper ...... discovered today. Works Cited Abramson, L. (2013). Arthritis in children. American College of Rheumatology. Retrieved from http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/diseases_and_conditions/juvenilearthritis.aspArthritis Foundation. (2013). National Arthritis Action Plan. Retrieved from http://www.arthritis.org/about-us/naap/ Hahn, Y. and Kim, J. (November 30, 2010). Pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Korean Journal of Pediatrics. 53(11). doi: 10.3345/kjp.2010.53.11.921National Arthritis Action Plan. (1999). Arthritis Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.arthritis.org/files/images/Delia/NAAP_full_plan.pdfRuderman, E. and Tambar, S. (2012). Rheumatoid arthritis. American College of Rheumatology. Retrieved from http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/diseases_and_conditions/ra.asp