We have retrospectively reviewed data on our university hospital patients who had had at least one anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) titer performed (n = 781) during a 32-month study period between January 1991 and September 1993. We were able to locate clinical data on 95% (741 of 781) of these patients. Women (W) predominated at 70% (513 of 741), with men (M) at 30% (228 of 741). Reasons for ordering this test included brain infarct (M, 16%; W, 9%), multiple brain infarcts (M, 5%; W, 5%), migraine (M, 5%; W, 19%), and excessive clotting tendencies (M, 19%; W, 10%). Overall, aCL positivity was found in 10% of patients (73 of 741), with second-titer-confirmed positivity at 82% (60 of 73), men positive at 8% (18 of 228), and women positive at 11% (55 of 513; M versus W NS). For men, brain infarct (16% of aCL-positive in M versus 5% in W, p = 0.02), and for women, multiple brain infarcts (32% versus 0%, p = 0.01), migraine (10% versus 0%, p = 0.01), and systemic lupus erythematosus (30% versus 14%, p = 0.07) were the evident men-versus-women differences. We further studied stroke risk factors, associated conditions, family history, and laboratory findings relative to both sexes. aCL positivity continues to present differently, based on sex, at our university hospital.
Copyright © 1995 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.