Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA)

ANA (Antinuclear Antibodies) Test

What To Think About

• Autoimmune diseases cannot be diagnosed by the results of the ANA test alone. A complete medical history, physical examination, and the results are other tests are used with the ANA test to help identify autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or rheumatoid arthritis.
• Some healthy people can have an increased amount of ANA in their blood. For instance, this can happen in some people with a family history of autoimmune disease. The higher the ANA level is, however, the more likely it is that the person has an autoimmune disease.
• ANA levels can increase as a person ages.

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Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH	Last Updated: June 12, 2008
Medical Review:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology
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