Open AccessIncreased frequency of antinuclear antibodies in elderly subjects: fact or artifact?
Author(s) -
Maria Cristina Sacchi,
Aldo Bellora,
Stefania Tamiazzo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
working paper of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2279-9761
DOI - 10.4081/wpph.2020.9247
Subject(s) - anti nuclear antibody , autoantibody , concomitant , medicine , gold standard (test) , indirect immunofluorescence , artifact (error) , antibody , immunology , psychology , neuroscience
Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) positive in elderly patients. Methodology: Ana test was evaluate in 1000 eldery patients with Indirect Immunofluorescence (IFI), which still represents the gold standard for the research of this type of autoantibodies. Results: We enrolled 1000 elderly patients ≥ 75 years (75-97y) from September 2019 to April 2020. In 29% of patients we found a positive ANA with a title ≥ 1:160. Conclusions: Our results confirm the data present in the literature. The reasons because in these patients there is an increase in the positivity of ANA are not yet known. Therefore, are these results the expression of a real increase in autoimmune rheumatic diseases in the elderly (predictive antibodies) due to the presence of other concomitant pathologies and the intake of drugs or may they depend on the greater sensitivity of the latest generation diagnostic methods? More comprehensive studies are needed to better understand this phenomenon.