Our study shows lower frequency of morbidity in JIA; probably related to a better healthcare system facilitating early diagnosis and treatment in this part of the country.

Currently available gestational age scoring systems are complex and inaccurate for wider use in low and middle-income countries(LMIC), particularly in infants with neonatal encephalopathy. Here we developed a scoring system based on physical characteristics for identifying late preterm infants from term infants. In the first phase, we examined the accuracy of 10 objective physical characteristics in a prospective cohort of 1006 babies recruited from three hospitals in South India. A weighted scoring system and a photo card were then developed based on the six best performing characteristics, which was validated in another prospective cohort of 1004 babies. The final score had a sensitivity of 66.0%, (95% Confidence intervals (CI), 58.4%-73.8%), specificity of 80.0%, (95% CI, 77.2%-82.7%) and a negative predictive value of 93.0%, (95%CI, 90.5%-94.5%). This scoring system may have wider applications in low and middle-income countries, particularly in community settings and in infants with neonatal encephalopathy.