What does it mean when you ANA is positive?

What does it mean when you ANA is positive?

In most cases, a positive ANA test indicates that your immune system has launched a misdirected attack on your own tissue — in other words, an autoimmune reaction. But some people have positive ANA tests even when they’re healthy.

What diseases cause a positive ANA?

Conditions that usually cause a positive ANA test include:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Sjögren’s syndrome — a disease that causes dry eyes and mouth.
• Scleroderma — a connective tissue disease.
• Rheumatoid arthritis — this causes joint damage, pain, and swelling.
• Polymyositis — a disease that causes muscle weakness.

Does positive ANA always mean lupus?

Does that mean I have lupus? If your doctor says your ANA test is “positive,” that means you have antinuclear antibodies in your blood — but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have lupus. In fact, a large portion of patients with a positive ANA do not have lupus.

Can you have a positive ANA and not have lupus?

If your doctor says your ANA test is “positive,” that means you have antinuclear antibodies in your blood — but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have lupus. In fact, a large portion of patients with a positive ANA do not have lupus.

Will ANA be positive with fibromyalgia?

Most of the false-positive ANAs were of low titer, but even a high-titer ANA is not proof of an underlying connective tissue disease. Therefore, not surprisingly, ANA testing is frequently positive in patients with fibromyalgia.

Can you have positive ANA without having lupus?

One source cites that some ten million Americans have a positive ANA, but fewer than 1 million of them have lupus. Therefore, a positive ANA test alone is never enough to diagnosis systemic lupus. Rather, a physician will order an ANA test if the patient first exhibits other signs of lupus.

Can positive ANA cause fatigue?

Fatigue is a common feature of the anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)-positive systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs), including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren’s disease (SjD), systemic sclerosis (SSc), dermatomyositis, and mixed connective tissue disease [1,2,3,4,5].