Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies have suggested that Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection might be associated with fatty liver disease. However, the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and T. gondii infection has not been investigated in a large population. We aimed to study the relationship between those two diseases using a population-based dataset from the United States.MethodsThe data were collected from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) between 1988 and 1994. Statistical analysis was applied to compare the prevalence of NAFLD in anti-T. gondii antibody-positive participants with antibody-negative ones.ResultsA total of 9465 persons with a mean age of 44.33 ± 16.21 years, 46.9% of which were males, were included in the final analysis. Their mean BMI was 27.60 ± 5.96 kg/m2. A total of 2520 participants (26.62%) were positive for the T. gondii antibody. There was an increasing trend of seroprevalence of T. gondii with age (P for trend < 0.001). The incidence of NAFLD in the seropositive group was higher than that in the seronegative group (27.10% vs 23.40%, p < 0.001). In addition to this, metabolic biomarkers, including serum lipid, fasting blood-glucose, and uric acid were also significantly higher in the seropositive group. However, multivariate analysis revealed that T. gondii infection was not an independent risk factor for NAFLD. Age was independently correlated with both the prevalence of T. gondii and NAFLD.ConclusionsPatients with T. gondii infection may have a higher prevalence of NAFLD. Age may have an effect on the increase of NAFLD in the T. gondii seropositive population.
Highlights
Previous studies have suggested that Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection might be associated with fatty liver disease
Comparison of T. gondii seropositive group and seronegative group There were 2520 (26.62%) cases who tested positive for T. gondii
Most biomarkers for liver cell injury, for example, Alanine transaminase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and Total bilirubin (TBIL) were comparable between the two groups
Summary
Previous studies have suggested that Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection might be associated with fatty liver disease. The relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and T. gondii infection has not been investigated in a large population. When the liver is involved, T. gondii infection can present with hepatomegaly, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disease with an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, with different complications including inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. It is the most common chronic liver disease with a global prevalence of 30% [9]. Epidemiological data from eastern China showed that the prevalence rate of T. gondii was higher in people with liver steatosis (22.75%) compared
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