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Anticardiolipin antibodies in various diseases in Taiwan: a retrospective analysis
1Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kwei-Shan Hsiang, Taoyuan County, Taiwan.
Insights
Anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) are most frequent in autoimmune diseases with vascular thrombosis. This study found ACA prevalence in Taiwan is low for pregnancy loss and similar for young and old stroke patients.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Hematology
- Rheumatology
Background:
- Anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) are autoantibodies associated with thrombosis and pregnancy complications.
- Understanding the prevalence and clinical significance of ACA in diverse patient populations is crucial for diagnosis and management.
- Limited data exists on ACA frequency and clinical relevance within Taiwan.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) across various diseases in Taiwan.
- To evaluate the clinical significance and associations of ACA in different patient groups.
- To compare ACA prevalence with lupus anticoagulant (LA) in specific conditions like young stroke.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of laboratory records from 690 patients.
- Patients categorized into eight disease groups for comparative analysis of ACA positivity rates.
- Statistical comparisons of ACA and LA prevalence in young stroke and pregnancy-related complications.
Main Results:
- ACA positivity was below 20% in most groups, notably 38.2% in autoimmune diseases with vascular thrombosis.
- No significant difference in ACA positivity was observed between young and old stroke patients (P = 0.482).
- ACA was more prevalent than LA in young stroke (15.66% vs. 2.86%, P = 0.015).
- ACA positivity was higher in lupus patients experiencing pregnancy loss/prematurity (44.44%) compared to non-lupus patients (9.76%, P = 0.01).
Conclusions:
- ACA prevalence is elevated in Taiwanese patients with autoimmune diseases and concurrent vascular thrombosis.
- ACA positivity does not differ significantly between young and old stroke patients.
- ACA is more common than LA in young stroke, suggesting a role in thrombotic events.
- The study provides the first comprehensive report on ACA frequency and clinical associations in Taiwan.
Abstract:
The goals of this study are to determine the frequency of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) in patients with various diseases and to evaluate the clinical significance of ACA in Taiwan. We collected 690 patients from ACA laboratory records. They were divided into eight groups in order to compare ACA percentages. Positive rates of ACA in different disease groups were below 20%, except for 38.2% in autoimmune diseases with vascular thrombosis. Compared with old stroke, the ACA positivity in young stroke was not significantly different (P = 0.482). The positive percentage of lupus anticoagulant (LA) (2.86%) was lower than that of ACA (15.66%) in young stroke (P = 0.015). Among patients with pregnancy loss or prematurity, the ACA positivity in lupus patients (44.44%) was higher than without lupus (9.76%; P = 0.01). The prevalence of ACA is higher in patients with vascular thrombosis complicated by autoimmune diseases than with thrombosis alone in Taiwan. Young and old stroke do not differ in ACA positivity. Moreover, ACA is more prevalent than LA for young stroke related coagulation. The ACA positivity for pregnancy loss or prematurity is very low in Taiwan. In summary, this is the first report on the frequency of ACA and other coagulation factors in various diseases in Taiwan.