Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul 5;18(1):307.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-018-3228-0.

The relation of secondary sex ratio and miscarriage history with Toxoplasma gondii infection

Saeedeh Shojaee  1 , Aref Teimouri  2   3 , Hossein Keshavarz  2 , Sanaz Jafarpour Azami  2 , Sahar Nouri  4
Affiliations

The relation of secondary sex ratio and miscarriage history with Toxoplasma gondii infection

Saeedeh Shojaee et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite with worldwide distribution, infecting a broad-range of humans and warm-blooded animals. In the current study, role of this parasite on secondary sex ratio and risk of miscarriage was investigated.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 850 cord blood samples were collected in Tehran, Iran, 2014-2015. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess anti-Toxoplasma IgG in samples. Information such as sex of the neonates and age, number of previous pregnancies and history of miscarriage of the mothers were recorded in questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the possible relationship between the latent toxoplasmosis and the highlighted parameters.

Results: Logistic regression analysis showed that the odds of having a male neonate in seropositive women is nearly 64% higher than that in seronegative women (OR = 1.64, CI95 = 1.16-2.33, P = 0.005). The odds ratio of having male neonate increased to 2.10 (CI95 = 1.24-3.57, P = 0.006) in high-titer seropositive women, compared to that in seronegative control group. The odds of having a miscarriage history was approximately two and a half times greater in seropositive women than in seronegative ones (OR = 2.45, CI95 = 1.56-3.87, P < 0.001). The odds ratio of having miscarriage increased to 2.76 (CI95 = 1.61-4.73, P < < .001) in low-titer seropositive women, compared to that in seronegative control group.

Conclusion: Results of the current study have shown that T. gondii infection affects secondary sex ratio in human offspring and can be addressed as one of the major miscarriage causes in women.

Keywords: Cord blood serum; ELISA; Miscarriage; Secondary sex ratio; Toxoplasma gondii.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The current study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants before being involved in the study. All participants signed an informed consent and received a complete copy of the signed consent form.

Consent for publication

Not applicable (no individual person’s data).

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG in 850 cord blood serum samples in particular age groups of participants using ELISA
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Prevalence of miscarriage in particular age groups of 166 Toxoplasma-positive and 684 Toxoplasma-negative subjects using ELISA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dubey JP. Toxoplasmosis of animals and humans. 2. New York: CRC Press Inc. Boca Raton; 2010. pp. 1–313.
    1. Sharbatkhori M, Moghaddam YD, Pagheh AS, Mohammadi R, Mofidi HH, Shojaee S. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infections in pregnant women in Gorgan City, Golestan Province, Northern Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2014;9:181–187. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mahmoudvand H, Saedi Dezaki E, Soleimani S, Baneshi MR, Kheirandish F, Ezatpour B, Zia-ali N. Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among healthy blood donors in southeast of Iran. Parasite Immunol. 2015;37(7):362–367. doi: 10.1111/pim.12198. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tenter AM, Heckeroth AR, Weiss LM. Toxoplasma gondii: from animals to humans. Int J Parasitol. 2000;30:1217–1258. doi: 10.1016/S0020-7519(00)00124-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weiss LM, Dubey JP. Toxoplasmosis: a history of clinical observations. Int J Parasitol. 2009;39(8):895–901. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2009.02.004. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances