Applications of methods in collaborative science

National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The study of autoimmunity using NHANES survey data explored time trends and determinants of anti-nuclear antibodies and found strong evidence that the prevalence of those antibodies has been increasing in the US over the past few decades. Our work with the NHANES data had looked at a specific marker (anti-dense fine speckled 70 autoantibodies) and found increases in the US population over time. Ongoing work is attempting to link those increases to xenobiotics that have changed over time. The increases in ANA seem to be largely confined to smokers and ex-smokers, with little increase evident in never-smokers, suggesting a possible role for decreasing use of cigarettes and maybe for increasing use of E-cigarettes.