High Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Type I Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Background. Type I diabetes (TΙDM) is a genetic or autoimmune disorder, which may be stimulated by induced immune system components due to the underlying infectious diseases. This study was undertaken to find out any possible association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and TIDM. Materials and Methods. One hundred and eighty-two blood samples were taken from individuals who were referred to outpatient clinics in Shiraz city, Southern Iran, during a 6-month period. The age of type I diabetic subjects ( n = 91 ) and the control group ( n = 91 ) was identical, which were less than 30 years. The sera were examined for IgG and IgM antibodies by ELISA and correlated with epidemiological factors such as age, sex, and family history of diabetes. Results. Out of 91 diabetic patients, 54 (59.3%) were female and 37 (40.7%) were male. The highest frequency of diabetes belonged to 6-10- and 11-15-year groups ( P = 0.17 ). Toxoplasma infection prevalence in diabetic and control groups was 28.6% and 7.7%, respectively ( P = 0.001 ). A significantly positive family history of diabetes was observed between diabetic patients (31 cases, 34.1%) and the control group (3 cases, 3.3%) ( P = 0.01 ). Interestingly, IgG positivity was seen in 13 cases (41.9%) of patients with positive family history of type I diabetes and 13 cases (21.7%) of subjects with no positive family history of type I diabetes ( P = 0.04 ). Conclusion. Our study showed a higher prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in type I diabetes patients. It is likely that the prevalence of TIDM decreases by increasing hygiene and preventing toxoplasmosis.

Toxoplasmosis Frequency Rate in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Northeastern Iran

“…Among 52 patients with multiple sclerosis, 23 (44.2%) were positive for anti-T.gondii IgG antibodies, which had a significant difference compared to the healthy control group (24.4%) (P=0.042) (25). Another study on autoimmune disease, reported a positive correlation between Toxoplasma infection and Type I diabetes (26). In that study, out of 91 diabetic patients, 26 (28.6%) had an IgG antibody to T. gondii, while it was 7 (7.7%) for the control group (P=0.001) (26).…”

“…Another study on autoimmune disease, reported a positive correlation between Toxoplasma infection and Type I diabetes (26). In that study, out of 91 diabetic patients, 26 (28.6%) had an IgG antibody to T. gondii, while it was 7 (7.7%) for the control group (P=0.001) (26). According to these studies, T. gondii infection may be one of the several environmental risk factors for Type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis.…”

A large-scale study on the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans in Iran

“…In Iran, several studies with various serological methods were performed on different human populations (Nayeri et al 2020, Sobati 2020, particularly high-risk demographic groups, such as people undergoing chemotherapy (Hosseini et al 2021), ophthalmic disorders (Saki et al 2020), transplant, immunocompromised and hemodialysis patients (Ahmadpour et al 2014, Rasti et al 2016, diabetic patients (Asgari et al 2021), pregnant women (Ben-Harari and Connolly 2019, Khademi et al 2019, Nayeri et al 2020, neonates (Nahvi et al 2019), blood donors (Moshfe et al 2018), and occasionally healthy human population (Mousavi-Hasanzadeh et al 2020). The seroprevalence ranged from 13% to 73% and varied among gender, province and lifestyle (Daryani et al 2014).…”

Investigating the potential link between seroprevalence of Toxoplasma IgG and both types of diabetes mellitus in Benha city, Egypt

“…This finding was in agreement with Goekce et al [28] who observed that T. gondii IgG seropositivity in T1DM patients was considerably higher than in controls (56.62 % versus 22.4%). Asgari et al [29] also reported a higher prevalence of toxoplasmosis in type I diabetes patients compared to nondiabetic controls. Beshay et al [26] stated that anti-Toxoplasma IgG was positive in 86.37% of T1DM patients (GI), 66.67% of T2D patients (GII) and 60% in the control group (GIII).…”