[Prevalence of rheumatoid factor in the healthy population of Moldova Republic]

A total of 1009 normal human sera (524 (51.9%) male and 485 (48.1%) female) were screened for rheumatoid factor (RF). The age of donors varied from 17 to 61 years, mean age 34 was years. The screening was performed by 3 methods with the following antigenic RF substrates: modified human IgG (latex test), Fc fragment of rabbit IgG (Vaaler-Rose test), and their combination (Refa-Dac diagnostic agent). RF with activity of at least 3 IU/ml was detected in 3.1% subjects and with the activity higher than the common diagnostically significant level (20 IU/ml) in 5.58% examinees. RF more often occurs in healthy women than in men, particularly at the age of 17-39 years.