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Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

N. De Bles ,
J. Van Der Does ,
L. Kortbeek ,
A. Hofhuis ,
G. Van Grootheest ,
A. Vollaard ,
R. Schoevers ,
A. Van Hemert ,
B. Penninx  and
E. Giltay
N. De Bles*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
J. Van Der Does
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
L. Kortbeek
Affiliation:
Centre For Disease Control The Netherlands, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
A. Hofhuis
Affiliation:
Centre For Disease Control The Netherlands, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
G. Van Grootheest
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
A. Vollaard
Affiliation:
Centre For Disease Control The Netherlands, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands
R. Schoevers
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, UMCG, Groningen, Netherlands
A. Van Hemert
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
B. Penninx
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
E. Giltay
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular parasite that is estimated to be carried by one-third of the world population. While evidence has been found for a relationship between T. gondii infection and schizophrenia, its relationship with other psychiatric disorders like depressive and anxiety disorders shows inconsistent results.

Objectives

The aim of the present study was to examine whether T. gondii seropositivity is associated with affective disorders, as well as with aggression reactivity and suicidal thoughts.

Methods

In the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), T. gondii antibodies were assessed in patients with current depressive (n=133), anxiety (n=188), comorbid depressive and anxiety (n=148), and remitted disorders (n=889), as well as in healthy controls (n=373) based on DSM-IV criteria. Seropositivity was analyzed in relation to disorder status, aggression reactivity and suicidal thoughts using multivariate analyses of covariance and regression analyses.

Results

Participants were on average 51.2 years (SD = 13.2), and 64.4% were female. Seropositivity was found in 673 participants (38.9%). A strong positive association between T. gondii seropositivity and age was observed. No significant associations were found between T. gondii seropositivity and disorder status, aggression reactivity and suicidal thoughts. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for any remitted disorder versus controls was 1.13 (95% CI: 0.87-1.49), and for any current disorder versus controls was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.69- 1.28).

Conclusions

No evidence was found for a relationship between affective disorders and T. gondii infection

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondiiDepressioncognitive reactivityAnxiety
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S75
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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