OBJECTIVE: To characterize the antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer distributions and patterns in normal subjects, segregated by age and sex. METHODS: Sera were obtained from 183 blood donors (130 females, 53 males) aged 20-63 years, from 200 schoolchildren (100 females, 100 males) aged 10-19 years, and from 237 children (102 females, 135 males) aged 3 months to 9 years whose sera were received for unrelated clinical testing. ANA was assayed by indirect immunofluorescence using HEp-2 cells as substrate. RESULTS: In adults, ANA titers were slightly higher in females than in males (p=0.053); there was no sex effect in subjects aged <20 years. ANA titer increased significantly with age only among females (p<0.01). Homogeneous staining was associated with lower titers than speckled or nucleolar staining (p=0.058), at least in part because of antigen density in the test substrate itself. The frequency of cytoskeletal staining decreased (p<0.01) with age, while that of nucleolar staining increased (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Reference ranges for ANA vary by age, sex, and immunofluorescence pattern. Therefore, all these variables must be considered in the interpretation of ANA results.
OBJECTIVE: To characterize the antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer distributions and patterns in normal subjects, segregated by age and sex. METHODS: Sera were obtained from 183 blood donors (130 females, 53 males) aged 20-63 years, from 200 schoolchildren (100 females, 100 males) aged 10-19 years, and from 237 children (102 females, 135 males) aged 3 months to 9 years whose sera were received for unrelated clinical testing. ANA was assayed by indirect immunofluorescence using HEp-2 cells as substrate. RESULTS: In adults, ANA titers were slightly higher in females than in males (p=0.053); there was no sex effect in subjects aged <20 years. ANA titer increased significantly with age only among females (p<0.01). Homogeneous staining was associated with lower titers than speckled or nucleolar staining (p=0.058), at least in part because of antigen density in the test substrate itself. The frequency of cytoskeletal staining decreased (p<0.01) with age, while that of nucleolar staining increased (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Reference ranges for ANA vary by age, sex, and immunofluorescence pattern. Therefore, all these variables must be considered in the interpretation of ANA results.
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Authors: Christine G Parks; Frederick W Miller; Minoru Satoh; Edward K L Chan; Zhanna Andrushchenko; Linda S Birnbaum; Todd A Jusko; Grace E Kissling; Mehul D Patel; Kathryn M Rose; Clarice Weinberg; Darryl C Zeldin; Dale P Sandler Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2014-08-01 Impact factor: 4.254
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