ABSTRACT
Objective To study the distribution of antinuclear antibodies ( ANAs) in a healthy population and the significance of using ANAs screening test in medical examination .Methods The ANAs were measured by indirect immunofluorescence assay ( IIF) .The Western blot assay was used to detect fif-teen specific antibodies against auto-antigens .Results 3519 out of all 25 110 subjects showed ANAs titers>1∶100 , and among them male and female subjects were respectively accounted for 1143 and 2376 .1489 out of all subjects had ANAs titers >1∶320 , and among them male and female subjects were respectively accounted for 406 and 1083 .The positive rates of ANAs at different titers showed significant differences be -tween male and female subjects .Among subjects with ANAs titers >1∶320 , the number of male subjects showed a steady increase with the age , while the percentage of female subjects reached to two peaks during the periods of puberty and menopause .The fifteen specific antibodies were detected in 659 out of 1489 sub-jects with ANAs titers>1∶320 and anti-Ro-52 (14.2%) accounted for the majority , followed by anti-M2 (12.7%) and anti-SSA (9.6%).Conclusion ANAs can be detected among healthy population of all ages, but their distribution varied with gender and age .ANAs screening test is necessary for medical exami-nation of healthy population , especially for female during period of puberty or menopause .The population with positive ANAs should be followed-up closely and educated for the prevention of autoimmune diseases .