Practical Geriatrics ›› 2026, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (2): 136-141.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1003-9198.2026.02.007

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Clinical characteristics and prognosis analysis of elderly patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis and positive antinuclear antibodies

LU Fengyun, ZHANG Qian, WANG Yanyan, LIU Rui   

  1. Department of Rheumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
  • Received:2025-07-03 Online:2026-02-20 Published:2026-02-27
  • Contact: LIU Rui, Email:liurui_nanjing@163.com

Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of elderly patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) who were positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 99 AAV patients aged over 60 years admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University from May 2009 to May 2025. Based on ANA test results, the patients were divided into ANA-negative group and ANA-positive group. Baseline characteristics, laboratory parameters, renal pathology, and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the cumulative renal survival rates between the two groups, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors for progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in AAV patients. Results The mean age of the 99 elderly AAV patients was (70.9±5.9) years, the follow-up time was 16.0 (6.0, 44.3) months, and the ANA-positive rate was 42.4%(42/99). Compared with the ANA-negative group, the ANA-positive group had a higher proportion of females, hypertension, and hyperuricemia; higher levels of serum IgG, IgA, uric acid (UA), urea, and creatinine; higher incidence rates of progression to ESRD at 1 and 5 years; and a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and all these differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Renal biopsy pathology characteristics showed increased intensity of IgG deposition in the ANA-positive group (P=0.035). Survival analysis showed that the cumulative renal survival rate was significantly lower in the ANA-positive group (P=0.014). Cox regression analysis indicated that ANA positivity was a risk factor for progression to ESRD in the elderly AAV patients (HR=2.84, 95%CI: 1.16-6.98, P=0.023). Conclusions ANA positivity is a potential marker for aggravated renal injury and increased risk of ESRD in the elderly AAV patients. Therefore, ANA-positive elderly AAV patients need more intensive renal follow-up.    

Key words: anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies associated vasculitis, antinuclear antibody, clinical characteristics, end-stage renal disease, aged

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