Clinical diagnoses associated with a positive antinuclear antibody test in patients with and without autoimmune disease

Phenome-wide association study of 70,043 individuals (Vanderbilt EHR), including 49,546 without an autoimmune disease, found ANA positivity associated with lupus and other autoimmune diagnoses, and in the no-autoimmune-disease sub-cohort with increased risk of Raynaud's syndrome and pneumopathies. Candidate notes: Cohort: 70,043 individuals; 49,546 without autoimmune disease; 26,579 ANA+ (titer >=1:80) Without autoimmune disease: ANA+ associated with Raynaud's syndrome (OR 2.1) and alveolar/perialveolar pneumopathies (OR 1.4) ANA+ inversely associated with hepatitis C (OR 0.7), tobacco use disorder (OR 0.8), and depression (OR 0.8) Limits noted in the record: Retrospective EHR case-control design; ANA was tested for clinical indications, so the sample is not the general population Associations reported, not causal claims A positive ANA is not a diagnosis. Claims in this record are not verified.

A positive ANA is not a diagnosis. Claims in this record are not verified.

source