When Biology Meets Personal Choices

Production of antiphospholipid antibodies, an autoimmune phenomenon that is seen most often in young women, is a risk factor for arterial thrombosis. In a population-based case-control study, Dutch investigators enrolled 378 women (age range, 18–49) with diagnoses of ischemic stroke or myocardial infarction (MI) and 628 matched healthy controls. Diagnoses were confirmed with standard medical evaluations, blood antiphospholipid antibody profiles were determined, and risk factors were assessed with standardized questionnaires.

Lupus anticoagulant was detected in 17% of women with ischemic stroke, in 3% of women with MI, and in 1% of controls. Compared with controls, the odds ratio for ischemic stroke was 43 in women with lupus anticoagulant; a…