JIA is not the same as rheumatoid arthritis! In the United States, some forms of childhood arthritis are still somewhat inaccurately referred to as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or JRA even though the pattern of arthritis and the short-term and long-term effects of most types of juvenile arthritis are completely different from rheumatoid arthritis in adults. Less than 5% of children with JIA have a subtype of arthritis that resembles rheumatoid arthritis.