title: The prevalence of HLA-B27 in the US: data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To carry out the first large-scale population study of the prevalence of HLA-B27 in the US, which is needed for public health planning purposes because of recent improvements in medical therapy and diagnostic testing for ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
  
  
  METHODS
  The national prevalence of HLA-B27 was determined as part of the 2009 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a cross-sectional survey monitoring the health and nutritional status of the US civilian, noninstitutionalized population. DNA polymerase chain reaction analysis was conducted in samples from 2,320 adults ages 20-69 years from this nationally representative sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age-adjusted US prevalence of B27 was 6.1% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 4.6-8.2). By race/ethnicity, the prevalence of B27 was 7.5% (95% CI 5.3-10.4) among non-Hispanic whites and 3.5% (95% CI 2.5-4.8) among all other US races/ethnicities combined. In Mexican Americans, the prevalence was 4.6% (95% CI 3.4-6.1). The prevalence of B27 could not be reliably estimated for other US racial/ethnic groups because of the low number of B27-positive individuals in those groups. For adults 50-69 years of age, the prevalence of B27 was 3.6% (95% CI 2.2-5.8), which suggested a decrease in B27 with age. These prevalence estimates took into account the NHANES survey design and are reviewed with respect to data from the medical literature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings provide the first US national prevalence estimates for HLA-B27. A decline in the prevalence of HLA-B27 with age is suggested by these data but must be confirmed by additional studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, MSB 5.270, Houston, TX 77030, USA. John.D.Reveille@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Reveille
authors.forename: Rosemarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: Margaret D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Weisman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen