suicide

The association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and postpartum blues

February 4, 2020
Gao, J. M., He, Z. H., Xie, Y. T., Hide, G., Lai, D. H., Lun, Z. R.
Journal of Affective Disorder 2019, 250: 404 - 409 schizophrenia prevalence

Click for abstract

Is there any association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis

January 31, 2020
Chegeni, T. N., Sharif, M., Sarvi, S., Moosazadeh, M., Montazeri, M., Aghayan, S. A., Balalami, N. J., Gholami, S., Hosseininejad, Z., Saberi, R., Anvari, D., Gohardehi, S., Daryani, A.
PLoS ONE 2019, 14

Click for abstract

Background Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular opportunistic parasite that is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis. This parasite accounts for mental disorders; however, the relationship between T. gondii infection and depressive disorder is unclear. Regarding this, the present systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the scientific evidence regarding the potential association between major depression disorder (MDD) and Toxoplasma infection. Methods For the purpose of the study, the articles related to the subject of interest were systematically searched in seven electronic databases. Special attention was given to the studies examining T. gondii seropositivity level in depressed patients and controls. Results The search process resulted in the identification of a total of 30 publications meeting the inclusion criteria and published up to April 2018 for the systematic review. Furthermore, 29 studies met the inclusion criteria to be entered into meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis involved the review of cross-sectional studies including 1657 depressed patients and 19565 individuals as controls and case-control studies entailing 1311 depressed cases and 6015 controls without depression. 1582 depressed people participated in cross-sectional studies whose results were reported as odds ratio (OR). In addition, the total number of participants was 15068 in this type of studies. Statistical analysis indicated that the pooled OR of the risk of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody in depressed individuals in case-control and cross-sectional studies was 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.95-1.39). Conclusions As the findings of the reviewed articles indicated, toxoplasmosis is not a risk factor for MDD. However, it is necessary to perform further research to clarify the detailed association between T. gondii and dysthymia or mild and moderate depression. Furthermore, it is recommended to better investigate the effect of antibody titers on the relationship between depression and T. gondii infection.

Driving us mad: the association of Toxoplasma gondii with suicide attempts and traffic accidents – a systematic review and meta-analysis

January 31, 2020
Sutterland, A. L., Kuin, A., Kuiper, B., van Gool, T., Leboyer, M., Fond, G., de Haan, L.
Psychological Medicine 2019, 49: 1608 - 1623

Click for abstract

Relationship between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and depression in children and adolescents

January 31, 2020
Sapmaz, S. Y., Sen, S., Ozkan, Y., Kandemir, H.
Psychiatry Research 2019, 278: 263 - 267

Click for abstract

The association between suicide attempts and Toxoplasma gondii infection

May 3, 2018
Bak, J. Shim, S.H., Kwon, Y.J., Lee, H.Y., Kim, J.S., Yoon, H., Lee, Y.J.
Clinical Psychopharmacology Neuroscience 2018; 16: 95-102

Click for abstract

Clinical and serological predictors of suicide in schizophrenia and major mood disorders

May 3, 2018
Dickerson, F., Origoni, A., Schweinfurth, L.A.B., Stallings, C., Savage, C.L.G., Sweeney, K., Katsafanas, E., Wilcox, H.C., Khushalani, S., Yolken, R.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 2018; 206: 173-178

Click for abstract

Toxoplasma gondii: Biological parameters of the connection to schizophrenia

February 12, 2018
Xiao, J. C. ,Prandovszky, E. , Kannan,G., Pletnikov, M. V. Dickerson, ,F. , Severance , E. G., Yolken, R. H.
Schizophrenia Bulletin 2018; 44: 983-992

Click for abstract

Association of Toxoplasma gondii infection with schizophrenia and its relationship with suicide attempts in these patients

December 8, 2017
Ansari-Lari, M., Farashbandi, H., Mohammadi, F.
Tropical Medicine and International Health 2017; 22: 1322-1327

Click for abstract

New, previously unreported correlations between latent Toxoplasma gondii infection and excessive ethanol consumption

December 6, 2017
Samojlowicz, D., Borowska-Solonynko, A., Kruczyk, M.
Forensic Science International 2017; 280: 49-54

Click for abstract

A number of world literature reports indicate that a latent Toxoplasma gondii infection leads to development of central nervous system disorders, which in turn may lead to altered behavior in the affected individuals. T. gondii infection has been observed to play the greatest role in drivers, suicides, and psychiatric patients. Studies conducted for this manuscript involve a different, never before really reported correlation between latent T. gondii infection and ethanol abuse. A total of 538 decedents with a known cause of death were included in the study. These individuals were divided into three groups: the risky behavior group, inconclusively risky behavior group, and control group. The criterion for this division was the likely effect of the individual's behavior on the mechanism and cause of his/her death. The material used for analyses were blood samples collected during routine medico-legal examinations in these cases. The blood samples were used to measure anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moreover, the following data were recorded for each decedent: sex, age, circumstances of death, cause of death, time from death to autopsy, and (if provided) substance abuse status (alcohol, illicit drugs). In those cases where blood alcohol level or toxicology tests were requested by the Prosecutor's Office, their results were also included in our analysis. Test results demonstrated a strong correlation between latent T. gondii infection and engaging in risky behaviors leading to death. Moreover, analyses demonstrated a positive correlation between the presence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies and psychoactive substance (especially ethanol) abuse, however, the causal relationship remains unclear. Due to the fact that alcohol abuse constitutes a significant social problem, searching for eliminable risk factors for addiction is extremely important. Our analyses provided new important information on the possible effects of latent T. gondii infection in humans.

The association between immune markers and recent suicide attempts in patients with serious mental illness: A pilot study

March 23, 2017
Dickerson, F., Adamos, M., Katsafanas, E., Khushalani, S., Origoni, A., Savage, C., Schweinfurth, L., Stallings, C., Sweeney, K., Alaedini, A., Uhde, M., Severance, E., Wilcox, H. C., Yolken, R.
Psychiatry Research 2017;255:8-12

Click for abstract

Suicide attempts and markers of immune response in individuals with serious mental illness

January 3, 2017
Dickerson, F., Wilcox, H. C., Adamos, M., Katsafanas, E., Khushalani, S., Origoni, A., Savage, C., Schweinfurth, L., Stallings, C., Sweeney, K., Yolken, R.
Journal of Psychiatric Research 2017; 87: 37-43

Click for abstract

Is Toxoplasma gondii infection related to brain and behavior impairments in humans? Evidence from a population-representative birth cohort

May 28, 2016
Sugden, K., Moffitt, T. E., Pinto, L., Poulton, R., Williams, B. S., Caspi, A.
Plos One 2016; 11: ARTN e0148435 10.1371/journal.pone.0148435

Click for abstract

Identifying peripheral biomarkers of depression and suicidality: Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity, inflammatory cytokines and kynurenine metabolites

January 10, 2015
Brundin, L., Postolache, T.
Biological Psychiatry 2015; 77:302-302

Toxoplasma gondii & Human Phenotype

Compendium of Known Effects and Ongoing Research

Is there any association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Driving us mad: the association of Toxoplasma gondii with suicide attempts and traffic accidents – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Relationship between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and depression in children and adolescents

The association between suicide attempts and Toxoplasma gondii infection

Clinical and serological predictors of suicide in schizophrenia and major mood disorders

Toxoplasma gondii: Biological parameters of the connection to schizophrenia

Association of Toxoplasma gondii infection with schizophrenia and its relationship with suicide attempts in these patients

New, previously unreported correlations between latent Toxoplasma gondii infection and excessive ethanol consumption

The association between immune markers and recent suicide attempts in patients with serious mental illness: A pilot study

Suicide attempts and markers of immune response in individuals with serious mental illness

Is Toxoplasma gondii infection related to brain and behavior impairments in humans? Evidence from a population-representative birth cohort

Identifying peripheral biomarkers of depression and suicidality: Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity, inflammatory cytokines and kynurenine metabolites

Toxoplasma gondii and homicide

Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and suicide rates in women

Toxoplasma gondii antibody titers and history of suicide attempts in patients with recurrent mood disorders