ArticlePloS one2020
Population-based estimates of humoral autoimmunity from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1960-2014.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vitamin D and marine omega 3 fatty acid supplementation and incident autoimmune disease: VITAL randomized controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Trial
- Why a positive rheumatoid factor test does not always mean rheumatoid arthritis.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Rheumatoid factor production is genetically and molecularly distinct from rheumatoid arthritis.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Reply to "Unaddressed confounders in the association between proteinuria and thyroid function in CKD".International urology and nephrology · 2026Article
- Thyroid dysfunction in ageing populations.Endocrine connections · 2025Review
- Rheumatoid Factor: Diagnostic and Prognostic Performance and Therapeutic Implications in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Sex-specific associations between systemic autoantibodies and allergic sensitization or allergic disease - results from a population-based study.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Prevalence of a large panel of systemic autoantibodies in the Bavarian adult population.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Roles of FcRn in Antigen-Presenting Cells during Autoimmunity and a Clinical Evaluation of Efgartigimod as an FcRn Blocker.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Prevalence of Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Association With Incident Cardiovascular Events.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- The increasing prevalence of autoimmunity and autoimmune diseases: an urgent call to action for improved understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.Current opinion in immunology · 2023Review
- Expanded assessment of xenobiotic associations with antinuclear antibodies in the United States, 1988-2012.Environment international · 2022Article
- The Autoantigen Repertoire and the Microbial RNP World.Trends in molecular medicine · 2021Review
- Why women have more autoimmune diseases than men: An evolutionary perspective.Evolutionary applications · 2021Article
- The Association Between Dietary Antioxidant Micronutrients and Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveBased on US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, we attempted to provide an unbiased, population-based estimate of autoantibody prevalence overall and by age and sex.
methodsUS autoantibody prevalence estimates for detectable rheumatoid factor, anti-thyroglobulin, anti-thyroperoxidase, anti-transglutaminase, anti-endomysial, anti-GAD65, antinuclear autoantibodies, and autoantibodies to extractable nuclear antigens were estimated from the 1960-1962 National Health Examination Survey, NHANES III (1988-1994), and the NHANES 1999-2014 cross-sectional surveys. Survey design variables and sample weights were used to account for differential probabilities of selection within the complex survey design. Data analysis used SASTM and SUDAAN™ software. US Census Bureau data were used to estimate the absolute numbers of persons with autoantibodies.
resultsNHANES III data show that the overall US prevalence of having a detectable serum autoantibody is substantial in adults, in both women and men. Thyroid autoantibodies were present in 18% of US adults (31 million persons) including 10% of younger adults and 25% of older persons. Overall autoantibody prevalences increased significantly with age: 32% of US adults 60+ years of age (12.8 million persons) had at least one of the four autoantibodies rheumatoid factor, anti-thyroglobulin, anti-thyroperoxidase, or anti-tissue transglutaminase. Older women had higher levels of autoantibodies, but this was a relative difference. Autoantibody prevalence in both sexes was substantial (women 39%; men 22%). Fourteen percent of adults 60+ years of age have multiple autoantibodies.
conclusionsAutoantibodies are present in a significant fraction of the general population, especially in older adults and women relative to men. Although all known clinically significant autoantibodies were not analyzed, these data provide an important population perspective on the scope and magnitude of humoral autoimmunity in the US. This is vital for prevention efforts to reduce autoimmune disease and helps clarify the potential impact of autoimmunity on the general population.
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