title: Antinuclear antibodies in the oldest-old women and men.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in very old individuals (>or=86 years of age) with healthy younger (18-68 years) blood donors (n=200) regarding gender, health status, ratio of circulating CD4/CD8 cells and cytomegalovirus (CMV) serology. Frozen plasma was used for ANA detection in two study groups, i.e. 'OCTO' (97 persons aged 86-92 years, 65% women) and 'NONA' (136 persons aged 86-95 years, 70% women). OCTO participants were recruited on the basis that they were healthy or moderately healthy according to a selection protocol. No exclusion criteria regarding health status were applied in the NONA sample. The prevalence of ANA was significantly higher in the oldest-old samples compared to blood donors. There was no association between health status and the presence of ANA in the oldest-old. The difference across age was most pronounced in men, with low levels at younger age, whereas the prevalence among the oldest-old men reached similar levels as in women. There were no associations between the presence of ANA and CD4/CD8 ratio or with CMV status in the oldest-old. Our findings confirm an increased prevalence of ANA in the oldest-old, and emphasize the importance of taking gender and age into consideration when evaluating ANA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Ryhov Hospital, Jönköping, Sweden. bengt-olof.nilsson@lj.se
authors.forename: Bengt-Olof
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skogh
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ernerudh
authors.forename: Boo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Sture
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Löfgren
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wikby
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dahle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear