Antinuclear antibodies and thyroid function in sexually abused girls

Sexually abused girls manifest dysregulation of physiological stress response systems. In this exploratory investigation, 14 sexually abused and 13 control girls, ages 8-15 years, recruited from a prospective, longitudinal study, underwent plasma antinuclear antibody and thyroid function tests. Thyroid function tests and plasma antinuclear antibody titers did not differ between sexually abused and control girls. However, a significantly higher incidence of plasma antinuclear antibody titers was seen in abused subjects when compared with the frequency of positive antinuclear antibody titers in a sample of 22 adult healthy female volunteers, ages 20-58 years. These findings suggest that sexually abused girls may show evidence of an alteration in normal immune homeostatic function.