What is considered a high ANA titer?

In our laboratory, an ANA titer of 1:640 is defined as a “high titer” because of a 0.5% prevalence of positives in normal individuals. Therefore, we divided the patients into a high titer group (≥1:640) and low titer group (<1:640).


What is a strong positive ANA test?

In contrast, antinuclear antibodies often attack your body's own tissues — specifically targeting each cell's nucleus. In most cases, a positive ANA test indicates that your immune system has launched a misdirected attack on your own tissue — in other words, an autoimmune reaction.

Is a 1 80 ANA titer high?

If the ANA titre is high (e.g. 1:640, 1:1280 or 1:2560), this indicates more severe disease. If the ANA titre is low (e.g. 1:40, 1:80 or even 1:160), there is often no autoimmune disease. If the ANA titre is in the middle (e.g. 1:320), the result is less clear and should be interpreted in the clinical context.


What does an ANA titer of 1 320 mean?

A titer of ≥1:320 revealed a positive predictive value of 84.0% in SARD. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with ANA titers ≥1:320 had significantly lower levels of complement 3 and complement 4.

What level of ANA indicates lupus?

The initial requirement of the criteria for lupus diagnosis is a positive ANA test with a titer of at least 80. The numerical value of the titer refers to the ratio of blood serum being evaluated to a dilution agent.


5 Things You Need To Know About Your Positive ANA



What is a high titer for lupus?

An ANA titer of 1:40 or higher is considered positive. An ANA titer of less than 1:40 is useful for ruling out SLE in children (sensitivity of 98%). A repeated negative result makes a diagnosis of SLE unlikely but not impossible.

What autoimmune diseases cause high ANA?

Conditions that usually cause a positive ANA test include:
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus.
  • Sjögren's syndrome -- a disease that causes dry eyes and mouth.
  • Scleroderma -- a connective tissue disease.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis -- this causes joint damage, pain, and swelling.
  • Polymyositis -- a disease that causes muscle weakness.


Is a ANA titer 1 160 high?

Titers ≥ 1:160 usually indicate the presence of active SLE, although occasionally other autoimmune disease may induce these high titers. There are now known groups of ANA-negative lupus patients.


What cancers have a high ANA titer?

Neoplastic diseases may cause positive ANA. Some authors have described that ANA is found in the sera from lung, breast, head and neck cancer patients as frequently as in RA and SLE 3, 4, 5. Chapman et al. 6 has suggested that in breast cancer they may be used as an aid to early diagnosis.

Why would ANA titer be high?

It's normal to have a few antinuclear antibodies in your blood. But a large number may be a sign of an autoimmune disorder. If you have an autoimmune disorder, your immune system attacks the cells of your organs and tissues by mistake. These disorders can cause serious health problems.

Is an ANA titer 1 320 considered high?

A positive ANA was defined as a titer ≥ 1:80. ANA were classified as weakly (1:80 or 1:160), moderately (1:320 or 1:640) or strongly (≥1:1280) positive.


Is a 1 40 ANA titer high?

ANA is reported as a "titer". Low titers are in the range of 1:40 to 1:60. A positive ANA test is of much more importance if you also have antibodies against the double-stranded form of DNA. The presence of ANA does not confirm a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

What is normal ANA range?

ANAs can be found in approximately 5% of the normal population, usually in low titers (low levels). These people usually have no disease. Titers of 1:80 or lower are less likely to be significant. (ANA titers of less than or equal to 1:40 are considered negative.)

Should I worry about positive ANA?

The finding of antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity in a healthy individual is usually of unknown significance and in most cases is benign. However, a subset of such individuals is at risk for development of autoimmune disease.


Does high ANA mean autoimmune?

Even when detected at high titer, a positive ANA result, by itself (in the absence of symptoms or physical findings), does not indicate that a patient either has, or will develop, an autoimmune disease. Some ANA appear to be unrelated to the development of autoimmune disorders.

What is borderline lupus?

A doctor may use the phrase "borderline lupus" when symptoms or blood test results suggest lupus, but there is not enough information for a definite diagnosis.

Can a tumor cause a positive ANA?

ANA were found to be positive in ~40% of patients with malignant tumors in two previous studies (22, 23).


Can a positive ANA mean leukemia?

Background: Serum antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are positive in some patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but the prognostic value of ANAs remains unknown.

Is a titer of 1 160 high speckled?

We suggest that ANA tests showing speckled pattern should be at a 1:160 titer or higher to be considered positive; other patterns such as homogeneous, peripheral, or centromeric might be considered positive even at low titers (</=1:40) although this needs investigation.

What is the most common ANA pattern for lupus?

The most frequently observed ANA patterns were the speckled (52.1%) and homogeneous (35.2%) patterns, while other patterns were rare representing less than 7% of the patients each. ANA titers were highest in patients with mixed pattern followed by the speckled pattern.


What viral infections cause positive ANA?

In particular, several patients with a positive ANA test result were found to have intracellular infections such as mycobacterial infections, syphilis, or scrub typhus. Keywords: Antinuclear antibodies; autoimmune diseases; infection; scrub typhus; tuberculosis.

Does inflammation cause high Ana?

Moreover, our data showed that ANA positive population present a higher rate of metabolic abnormalities than control group. We further detected the inflammatory and immune-related indicators of ANA positive population, and found that high ANA was correlated with inflammatory and immune dysfunction.

Is ANA High in multiple sclerosis?

However, in our study both the frequency and titers of ANA are significantly increased in patients with MS compared with controls (10% with a titer of 1:50). In addition, ANAs were found in young patients.


What are markers for autoimmune disease?

Antinuclear antibodies are markers for a number of autoimmune diseases, the most notable of which is systemic lupus erythematosus (Ferrell and Tan, 1985). Antibodies to specific nuclear constituents are high specific for certain collagen vascular diseases.

What is the difference between ANA and ANA titer?

The level to which a patient's sample can be diluted and still produce recognizable staining is known as the ANA "titer." The ANA titer is a measure of the amount of ANA in the blood; the higher the titer, the more autoantibodies are present in the sample.