Relationship between infection of Toxoplasma gondii and metabolic syndrome

Objective To investigate the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii) infection and metabolic syndrome (MS). Methods A total of 20 577 patients who received serum test of anti-T.gondii IgG antibody in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of the United States from 2009 to 2014 were collected to analyze the clinical features of anti-T.gondii IgG antibody positive patients, and to compare metabolic related indicators in the antibody IgG positive and negative groups. The independent sample t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were used to explore the risk factors of MS. Results A total of 2 746 participants were positive for the T. gondii antibody (13.34%), with a higher prevalence of male (14.44% vs 12.27%, χ2=15.99, P< 0.01). Meanwhile, the prevalence of T. gondii increased with age and body mass index (BMI) (χ2=979.98 and 50.85, respectively, both P<0.01). Among the 2 191 patients with MS, 449 (20.49%) patients were positive for T. gondii. While 2 297(12.49%) patients were anti-T.gondii positive in 18 386 non-MS patients. The difference was statistically significant (χ2=78.504, P<0.01). Age (t=-37.37), BMI (t=-4.28), glycosylated hemoglobin (t=-11.81), fasting blood glucose (t=-9.38), triacylglycerol (t=-6.32), cholesterol (t=-7.16), serum uric acid (t=-5.25) and serum creatinine (t=-7.69) in the seropositive group were all higher than those in the seronegative group (all P<0.01). After adjusting for age and gender, the prevalence of T. gondii was an independent risk factor for MS (odds ratio [OR]=1.147, P=0.023). Conclusions BMI, blood lipids, blood uric acid and blood glucose are significantly increased in patients with T. gondii infection. T. gondii infection is an independent risk factor for MS. Key words: Metabolic syndrome; Risk factors; Toxoplasma gondii