HLA-B27 Antigen in Women With Ankylosing Spondylitis

In a 1976 study involving 27 female patients with ankylosing spondylitis, 85.2% (23 out of 27) tested positive for the HLA-B27 antigen. The breakdown showed that 83.3% of white women (15 out of 18) and 88.9% of black women (8 out of 9) were positive. These findings indicated a strong association between HLA-B27 and ankylosing spondylitis in women, consistent with previous research on male subjects. The study concluded that testing for HLA-B27 could aid in diagnosing the condition in women and noted that the prevalence of HLA-B27 in black women with the disease was not lower than expected, suggesting possible genetic admixture as a contributing factor.