An Examination of HLA Frequencies in Three Age Groups

Abstract

The question as to whether the distribution of HL-A antigens differs between old and young persons has been studied in only a few population groups. There are observations showing an increase of heterozygosity of the HL-A system which indicate an advantage of heterozygosity for survival, but other studies fail to confirm this finding. Since the present authors, in a study of HL-A gene frequencies on 5 small Danish islands, had previously found a tendency to a changed frequency of certain HL-A types among the oldest persons, it was decided to examine this question by typing larger numbers of persons of different age groups.