WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis, juvenile arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) therapy exposure is not associated with differences in height compared with control treatment, according to a study published online Oct. 29 in JAMA Dermatology.

Hannah L. Cole, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the association between height and JAKi use in pediatric patients focusing on atopic dermatitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, for which JAKi therapies are commonly prescribed. Patients receiving treatment at 17 years or younger were included and matched with controls with any of these diagnoses who were receiving a corresponding comparator treatment not known to stunt growth at 17 years or younger and with no history of treatment with any of nine JAKis. Cohorts were propensity score-matched.

The analyses included 1,042 individuals. The researchers found no significant differences in height (mean difference, –0.94 cm; 95 percent confidence interval, –2.14 to 0.25 cm; P = 0.12). In secondary analyses in each disease cohort, no significant differences were found. The proportions of patients with height less than two standard deviations below the mean were similar for all cohorts.

"These findings may inform shared decision-making about JAKi use in the pediatric population," the authors write. "Future studies should evaluate whether these findings generalize to younger populations, the effects of JAKi therapy on growth velocity, and the role of potential mediating factors, such as IGF-1 signaling."

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