Toxoplasma gondii-infected subjects report an obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis more often and score higher in obsessive-compulsive inventory
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Background:
Latent
toxoplasmosis,
the
life-long
presence
of
dormant
stages
of
Toxoplasma
in
immunoprivileged
organs
and
of
anamnestic
IgG
antibodies
in
blood,
affects
about
30%
of
humans.
Infected
subjects
have
an
increased
incidence
of
various
disorders,
including
schizophrenia.
Several
studies,
as
well
as
the
character
of
toxoplasmosis-associated
disturbance
of
neurotransmitters,
suggest
that
toxoplasmosis
could
also
play
an
etiological
role
in
Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
(OCD).
Methods:
The
aim
of
the
present
cross-sectional
study
performed
on
a
population
of
7471
volunteers
was
to
confirm
the
association
between
toxoplasmosis
and
OCD,
and
toxoplasmosis
and
psychological
symptoms
of
OCD
estimated
by
the
standard
Obsessive-Compulsive
Inventory-Revised
(OCI-R).
Results:
Incidence
of
OCD
was
2.18%
(
n
=
39)
in
men
and
2.28%
(
n
=
83)
in
women.
Subjects
with
toxoplasmosis
had
about
a
2.5
times
higher
odds
of
OCD
and
about
a
2.7
times
higher
odds
of
learning
disabilities.
The
incidence
of
18
other
neuropsychiatric
disorders
did
not
differ
between
Toxoplasma
-
infected
and
Toxoplasma
-free
subjects.
The
infected
subjects,
even
the
OCD-free
subjects,
scored
higher
on
the
OCI-R.
Limitations:
Examined
subjects
provided
the
information
about
their
toxoplasmosis
and
OCD
statuses
themselves,
which
could
result
in
underrating
the
strength
of
observed
associations.
Conclusions:
The
results
confirmed
earlier
reports
of
the
association
between
toxoplasmosis
and
OCD.
They
also
support
recent
claims
that
latent
toxoplasmosis
is
in
fact
a
serious
disease
with
many
impacts on
quality
of
life
of
patients.