Abstract

Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are antibodies which show an affinity for nuclear antigens, including DNA. They have been associated with recurrent miscarriage. We sought to determine the prevalence of ANAs in women with recurrent miscarriage compared to a control population in order to establish the significance of the test in this population. We reviewed the population who attended the Pregnancy Loss Clinic, Cork University Maternity Hospital between 2011 and 2015 and identified 672 women with 2 consecutive miscarriages, and primary or secondary recurrent miscarriages. We recorded the ANA status for this group and compared it to a control group of healthy pregnant women, tested between 10–14 weeks of gestation. ANAs were detected in 40/284 (14.1%) women with 2 consecutive miscarriages, 17/179 (9.5%) with ?3 consecutive miscarriages, 16/214 (7.5%) women with secondary recurrent miscarriage and 10/118 (8.4%) controls. ANA positivity was not significantly more prevalent in those with 2 consecutive miscarriages (p = 0.12), ?3 consecutive miscarriages (p = 0.88) or secondary recurrent miscarriage (p = 0.77) compared to the control group. These findings call into question the previously suggested association of ANAs with recurrent miscarriage and its addition to testing protocols in this group.