Low level autoantibodies can be frequently detected in the general Australian population

The spectrum, incidence, kinetics and management of endocrinopathies with immune checkpoint inhibitors for metastatic melanoma

“…Approximately one-third of patients with thyroid dysfunction had positive thyroid autoantibodies at diagnosis, consistent with a recent study assessing thyroid immune-related adverse events with pembrolizumab (15). Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies are detected in 8.6% of the Australian population (19), suggesting an association for increased risk of the development of thyroid dysfunction with immunotherapy in the presence of thyroid antibodies. Baseline thyroid autoantibodies were not available in our cohort and should be examined in future studies.…”

Individual and stable autoantibody repertoires in healthy individuals

“…There are reports of pre-symptomatic patients displaying serum autoantibodies up to 20 years prior onset of an autoimmune disease, for example, anti-TRIM21 reactivity related to Sj€ ogren syndrome [17] and anti-citrullinated-peptide antibodies (ACPA) related to rheumatoid arthritis [18]. Several studies have shown that healthy individuals have detectable levels of serum autoantibodies which suggests that autoantibody positivity is not necessarily disease associated [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. It remains to be seen if any of the individuals we have investigated herein develop autoimmune diseases.…”

Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia

“…In fact, in that study in the United States of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, n = 4754), the frequency among the 60‐69 age group tended to be lower than the 50‐59 years group . Similarly, earlier work examining a range of autoantibodies in the Busselton cohort, including ANA, found no difference in prevalence of autoantibodies by age . Therefore, the age difference between the Wittenoom and Busselton study groups, is very unlikely to have affected these results.…”

“…In subsequent surveys, a random sample of adults was invited to participate. Serum from participants who completed the survey in 1994 was analysed for the presence of ANA in 2012 by Clinical Immunology PathWest Laboratory Medicine, WA, using the same method as outlined above, with a serum dilution of 1:40. The ANA test result of 147 Busselton participants of similar age range to the Wittenoom participants was obtained from the Busselton Study Custodians.…”

“…Data reporting ANA frequency among normal, unexposed subjects in the U.S. reveal that there is a background level of 13–15% positive at a 1:80 dilution . The only such study of an unexposed population in Australia is the Busselton cohort study, which reported a rate of 8.6% ANA positive at a 1:40 dilution, and at the time of serum collection, none of the participants had a clinical diagnosis of autoimmune disease . Here, we report the results of a preliminary analysis assessing ANA frequencies among former workers and residents of the asbestos mining and milling town of Wittenoom, Western Australia, exposed exclusively to the amphibole crocidolite, and investigate those results in the context of the data from Busselton.…”