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The effect of the pandemic on autoantibody rates in the general population
Mehmet Karabey1, Havva Kaya1, Alperen Ceylan2
1Department of Medical Microbiology, Division of Medical Virology, Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye.
Insights
This study analyzed autoantibody levels in nearly 90,000 individuals before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. While some autoantibodies were more prevalent in females, antinuclear antibody (ANA) levels increased during the pandemic.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about its potential impact on autoimmune conditions.
- Understanding changes in autoantibody prevalence is crucial for assessing long-term health consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on autoantibody levels.
- To analyze trends in autoantibody positivity rates before and during the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of autoimmune testing data from 89,108 individuals (January 2017 - May 2022).
- Defined prepandemic (May 2017 - March 2020) and pandemic (March 2020 - May 2022) periods for comparison.
Main Results:
- Autoantibody positivity was higher in females for several specific antibodies, including antinuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-Sjögren's syndrome A (anti-SSA).
- Prepandemic periods showed higher levels of antimitochondrial antibody (AMA) and anti-liver kidney microsomal (LKM) antibody, while ANA levels were higher during the pandemic.
- Statistically significant yearly distribution differences were observed for multiple autoantibodies, including ANA, AMA, and c-ANCA.
Conclusions:
- While a direct cause-effect relationship cannot be established, significant quantitative changes in autoantibody seroprevalence were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The large sample size and extended study period provide valuable insights into seroprevalence shifts over five years, encompassing the pandemic.
Objectives:
The study aimed to investigate the possible effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on autoantibodies.
Patients And Methods:
Samples of 89,108 individuals (29,033 males, 60,075 females; median: 36 years; range, 0 to 96 years) who underwent autoimmune testing between January 2017 and May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The prepandemic period was defined as May 1, 2017, to March 20, 2020, while the pandemic period was defined as March 20, 2020, to May 31, 2022.
Results:
Of the participants, 0.55% were of foreign nationality. The positivity rate was 18.12%. Autoantibody positivity rates, when analyzed by sex, were higher in females for antinuclear antibody (ANA), antimitochondrial antibody (AMA), anti-liver kidney microsomal (LKM) antibody, immunoglobulin A (IgA) anti-gliadin antibody, anti-endomysial antibody A, anti-ribosomal P protein antibody, anti-Sjögren's syndrome A (anti-SSA), anti-Sjögren's syndrome B (anti-SSB), anti-Smith/ribonucleoprotein (anti-SM/RNP), anti-SM, and c-ANCA (cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody). When the prepandemic period was compared with the pandemic period, AMA, anti-LKM antibody, IgA anti-gliadin antibody, anti-endomysial antibody A, and anti-SM/RNP levels were higher in the prepandemic period, while ANA was higher during the pandemic. Additionally, statistically significant differences were found in the distributions of ANA, AMA, anti-LKM antibody, IgA anti-gliadin antibody, anti-endomysial antibody A, anti-ribosomal P protein antibody, anti-SM, anti-SSA, and c-ANCA across the years.
Conclusion:
This study could not establish a cause-effect relationship between the changing autoantibody levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection due to the lack of results from the same patients across different periods. Nonetheless, we believe the quantitative seroprevalence changes in such a large sample of autoantibody screening results over a five-year period, including the pandemic, are valuable.
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