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This study examined the importance of birth characteristics and early life infections on the risk of later rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in Sweden. Infections during first year of life were associated with increased risks for sero-negative but not sero-positive RA and for JIA. The authors conclude that infections during first year of life, and possibly also factors related to foetal growth and timing of birth, may be important in the aetiologies of adult RA and JIA. Ann Rheum Dis. 2008. doi:10.1136/ard.2008.089342.