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. 2023 Jun 5;6(6):e1319.
doi: 10.1002/hsr2.1319. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Global seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients with mental and neurological disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Habtye Bisetegn  1 , Habtu Debash  1 , Hussen Ebrahim  1 , Naunian Mahmood  2 , Alemu Gedefie  1 , Mihret Tilahun  1 , Ermiyas Alemayehu  1 , Ousman Mohammed  1 , Daniel Getacher Feleke  3
Affiliations

Global seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients with mental and neurological disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Habtye Bisetegn et al. Health Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Background and aim: Toxoplasmosis is the most widespread zoonotic disease that affects one-third of the world's population, and imposes a major public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of toxoplasmosis among patients with neuropsychiatric patients.

Methods: Electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Research Gate, and Scopus were thoroughly searched from February to March 2022 to identify all relevant studies. The quality of studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality scale for case-control and cross-sectional studies. Statistical analysis was done using STATA version 12 software. A random effect model was used to compute the global pooled seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection. Heterogeneity was quantified by using I 2 value. Subgroup analysis was done, and publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot and Egger's test.

Result: Of 1250 studies, 49 containing 21,093 participants and conducted in 18 countries were included. The global pooled seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG antibody was 38.27% (95% CI: 32.04-44.9) among neuropsychiatric patients and 25.31% (95% CI: 21.53-29.08) in healthy controls with substantial heterogeneity of 98.3%. The prevalence of T. gondii IgG antibody was higher in males (17.52%) than in females (12.35%) neuropsychiatric patients. The highest pooled prevalence of T. gondii IgG antibody was in Europe (57%) followed by Africa (45.25%) and Asia (43%). Time based analysis showed the highest pooled prevalence of T. gondii IgG antibody in 2012-2016 (41.16%).The global pooled seroprevalence T. gondii IgM antibody among neuropsychiatric patients and healthy controls was 6.78% (95% CI: 4.87-8.69) and 3.13% (95% CI: 2.02-4.24), respectively.

Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of chronic and acute T. gondii infection among neuropsychiatric patients was 38.27% and 6.78%, respectively. This showed a high burden of toxoplasmosis among neurological and psychiatric patients and urges routine screening of those patients and providing appropriate treatment. It also indicates the need for different stakeholders to develop targeted prevention and control strategies for T. gondii infection.

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; global prevalence; neuropsychiatric disorder; psychiatric patients; toxoplasmosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for the selection of eligible studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot showing the global pooled seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody among neuropsychiatric patients from 2006 to 2022.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot showing the global seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody among apparently healthy control from 2006 to 2022.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot showing the global seroprevalence of anti Toxoplasma gondii IgM among neuropsychiatric patients and healthy controls from 2010 to 2021.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot showing the subgroup analysis Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody seroprevalence by sex.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Forest plot showing the pooled prevalence of anti Toxoplasma gondii IgG in different region of the world.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Forest plot showing the pooled seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody by publication year.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Funnel plot showing absence of publication bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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