Abstract
Purpose The probable association between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and diabetes mellitus (DM) is still controversial, and there are several studies with conflicting results. Thus, this study was performed to assess the possible association between chronic T. gondii infection and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and T2DM. Methods In this case-control study, a total of 105 diabetic subjects including 36 patients with T1DM and 69 patients with T2DM were recruited. In addition, 150 nondiabetic subjects were enrolled as controls. Each case group had its own control group. Each participant completed a structured questionnaire obtaining demographic information. Serum samples were examined for T. gondii-specific IgG antibody using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results Analysis revealed that 69.4% and 34.0% of patients with T1DM and control subjects were serologically positive for T. gondii, respectively (odds ratio (OR): 4.41; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.75–11.06; P=0.001). Moreover, 72.5% of T2DM patients and 29.0% of healthy individuals were seropositive for T. gondii (OR: 6.44; 95% CI: 3.25–12.74; P < 0.001). Among risk factors, only contact with cats was significantly associated with IgG seroprevalence in both T2DM patients (P < 0.001) and control subjects (P=0.045). Conclusion Although the results showed that chronic T. gondii infection is significantly associated with T1DM and T2DM, there remain many questions regarding the exact mechanisms of T. gondii in the pathogenesis of DM.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate apicomplexan intracellular parasite that is capable of infecting most warm-blooded animal species, including humans [1]. ere are various routes of T. gondii transmission to humans: ingestion of oocyst-contaminated food or water, eating cystinfected raw meat, vertical transmission from mother to fetus, organ transplantation, and blood transfusion [2,3,4,5]
Since there is a lack of knowledge about the epidemiological status of T. gondii infection and its association with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in southwest Iran (Khuzestan province, Khorramshahr city), anti-T. gondii IgG antibody in diabetic patients compared to nondiabetic subjects was evaluated
Our findings showed higher seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody in
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate apicomplexan intracellular parasite that is capable of infecting most warm-blooded animal species, including humans [1]. ere are various routes of T. gondii transmission to humans: ingestion of oocyst-contaminated food or water, eating cystinfected raw meat, vertical transmission from mother to fetus, organ transplantation, and blood transfusion [2,3,4,5]. Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate apicomplexan intracellular parasite that is capable of infecting most warm-blooded animal species, including humans [1]. It is estimated that one-third of the human population worldwide are infected with this parasite [2, 6, 7]. T. gondii seroprevalence rates of more than 45% in various human groups, including HIV/AIDS patients, cancer patients, transplant recipients, and hemodialysis patients when compared to lower seroprevalence rates observed in the general population including healthy blood donors and pregnant women [8, 9]. Since previous studies on the possible association between T. gondii infection and DM have reported conflicting results [11, 13], we decided to conduct a case-control investigation to shed light on the probable association between chronic T. gondii infection and T1DM and T2DM
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