Whereas ANA positivity correlates with rheumatologic disease in patients with headache, its low positive predictive value limits utility as a standalone screening tool. Though age was a differentiator in ANA positivity, our findings support that ANA testing should be performed only when there is clinical suspicion for systemic autoimmune disease, regardless of patient age. Overuse may lead to false positives, unnecessary investigations, and resource strain. Clinical context rather than serology should guide autoimmune evaluation in headache management.
Magiel et al. (Thu,) studied this question.