An investigation into the association between latent toxoplasmosis and suicide attempts among adolescents.

Hüsniye Yucel,S Burak Acikel,Saliha Senel

doi:10.3855/jidc.13632

Hüsniye Yucel, S Burak Acikel + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.13632

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Abstract

There have been several studies investigating the association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and psychiatric disorders although there is insufficient data on causality. Suicide, depression, and anxiety disorders have been especially investigated in this regard. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether there is any causal association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and suicide attempts in adolescents. This is a case-control study conducted between January and December 2019. A total of 27 adolescents who had attempted suicide and were aged between 12 and 18 years were included in the study. 26 age and sex ratio matched healthy volunteers were taken as the control group. A possible association between suicide attempts and Toxoplasma gondii serology (IgM and IgG) was investigated.. The suicide attempt group consisted of 17 females and 10 males. The mean age was 15.9 ± 1.4 (13.5-17.9) years. Toxoplasma gondii IgG seropositivity was 3.7% (1/27) in the suicide attempt group and 3.8% (1/26) in the control group. There was no significant association between the suicide attempt group and the control group in terms of the presence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies (p > 0.05). Our study is one of the few studies examining the association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and suicide attempts in adolescents yet we did not find any significant association. Further evidence is needed to clarify this controversial issue.

Highlights

There have been several studies investigating the association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and psychiatric disorders there is insufficient data on causality
There is considerably limited data about the association between exposure to T. gondii and suicide attempts in adolescents, so we aimed to investigate any possible association between suicide attempts and T. gondii seropositivity in adolescents in this study to add knowledge to literature
In a recent meta-analysis, it was indicated that developing T. gondii infection may increase the risk of suicide by 43% and individuals with T. gondii infection had a higher probability of suicide than without T. gondii infection

Summary

Introduction

There have been several studies investigating the association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and psychiatric disorders there is insufficient data on causality. We aimed to investigate whether there is any causal association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and suicide attempts in adolescents. Toxoplasma gondii IgG seropositivity was 3.7% (1/27) in the suicide attempt group and 3.8% (1/26) in the control group. There was no significant association between the suicide attempt group and the control group in terms of the presence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies (p > 0.05). In Turkey, it is reported that the number of deaths caused by suicide was 3161 per year according to Turkish Statistics Institute data for 2018. Most of these deaths are between the ages of 15 and 19 years. The most common method of suicide attempt among adolescents is taking an overdose of drugs [3]

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