The relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infection and mood disorders in the NHANES III

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Biol Psychiatry
• Personal Author:
  Pearce, Brad D. ; Kruszon-Moran, Deanna ; Jones, Jeffrey L.
• Description:
  Background
  
  Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a neurotropic protozoan parasite that causes persistent infection in humans. A substantial literature suggests that schizophrenia is associated with increased seroprevalence of T. gondii, but a possible link of the parasite with mood disorders has not been as thoroughly investigated.
  
  Methods
  
  We examined the association of Toxoplasma-specific IgG results with mood disorder outcomes in 7440 respondents from the third National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES III), which is a nationally representative sample of the U.S. noninstitutionalized civilian population. Regression models were adjusted for numerous potential confounders including tobacco smoking and C-reactive protein levels.
  
  Results
  
  No statistically significant associations were found between T. gondii seroprevalence and a history of major depression (n=574; adjusted odds ratio, 0.8; 95% CI 0.5–1.2), severe major depression (n=515; adjusted odds ratio, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.6– 1.2), dysthymia (n=548; adjusted odds ratio, 1.1; 95% CI 0.7–1.8), or dysthymia with co-morbid major depression (n=242, adjusted odds ratio, 1.2; 95% CI 0.6–2.4), all p-values were >0.05, including analysis stratified by gender. However, there was a significant relationship between T. gondii seroprevalence and bipolar disorder type I for respondents in which both manic and major depression symptoms were reported (n=41; adjusted odds ratio, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2–4.8; p<0.05).
  
  Conclusions
  
  In a population-based sample, T. gondii seroprevalence is not elevated in unipolar mood disorders but is higher in a subset of respondents with a history of bipolar disorder type 1.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Article Bipolar Disorder C-reactive Protein Cross-Sectional Studies Dysthymia Humans Major Depression Mood Disorders Neuroimmunology Nutrition Surveys Regression Analysis Risk Factors Seroepidemiologic Studies Smoking Socioeconomic Factors Toxoplasma Toxoplasmosis United States Young Adult

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• Source:
  Biol Psychiatry. 72(4):290-295
• Pubmed ID:
  22325983
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4750371
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  72
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:0b2f2f80f2ff2a5ae2f075b507dcde45cce7908c761f458bfb5ad84c78117859
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/37963/cdc_37963_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 180.54 KB ]