A Positive Association between T. gondii Seropositivity and Obesity

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2013.00073

. 2013 Dec 25:1:73.

doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2013.00073. eCollection 2013.

A Positive Association between T. gondii Seropositivity and Obesity

Gloria M Reeves ¹, Sara Mazaheri ², Soren Snitker ³, Patricia Langenberg ⁴, Ina Giegling ⁵, Annette M Hartmann ⁵, Bettina Konte ⁵, Marion Friedl ⁵, Olaoluwa Okusaga ⁶, Maureen W Groer ⁷, Harald Mangge ⁸, Daniel Weghuber ⁹, David B Allison ¹⁰, Dan Rujescu ⁵, Teodor T Postolache ¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA ; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
² St. Elizabeths Hospital, Psychiatry ResidencyTraining Program , Washington, DC , USA.
³ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg , Halle , Germany.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , TX , USA.
⁷ Colleges of Nursing and Medicine, University of South Florida , Tampa, FL , USA.
⁸ Research Unit on Lifestyle and Inflammation-associated Risk Biomarkers, Clinical Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
⁹ Department of Pediatrics, Paracelsus Medical School , Salzburg , Austria.
¹⁰ Section on Statistical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics, Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, AL , USA.
¹¹ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA ; Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.

PMID: 24400300
PMCID: PMC3872312
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2013.00073

A Positive Association between T. gondii Seropositivity and Obesity

Gloria M Reeves et al. Front Public Health. 2013.

. 2013 Dec 25:1:73.

doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2013.00073. eCollection 2013.

Authors

Gloria M Reeves ¹, Sara Mazaheri ², Soren Snitker ³, Patricia Langenberg ⁴, Ina Giegling ⁵, Annette M Hartmann ⁵, Bettina Konte ⁵, Marion Friedl ⁵, Olaoluwa Okusaga ⁶, Maureen W Groer ⁷, Harald Mangge ⁸, Daniel Weghuber ⁹, David B Allison ¹⁰, Dan Rujescu ⁵, Teodor T Postolache ¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA ; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
² St. Elizabeths Hospital, Psychiatry ResidencyTraining Program , Washington, DC , USA.
³ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg , Halle , Germany.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , TX , USA.
⁷ Colleges of Nursing and Medicine, University of South Florida , Tampa, FL , USA.
⁸ Research Unit on Lifestyle and Inflammation-associated Risk Biomarkers, Clinical Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
⁹ Department of Pediatrics, Paracelsus Medical School , Salzburg , Austria.
¹⁰ Section on Statistical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics, Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, AL , USA.
¹¹ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA ; Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.

PMID: 24400300
PMCID: PMC3872312
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2013.00073

Abstract

Obesity is a global public health problem that is linked with morbidity, mortality, and functional limitations and has limited options for sustained interventions. Novel targets for prevention and intervention require further research into the pathogenesis of obesity. Consistently, elevated markers of inflammation have been reported in association with obesity, but their causes and consequences are not well understood. An emerging field of research has investigated the association of infections and environmental pathogens with obesity, potential causes of low grade inflammation that may mediate obesity risk. In this study, we estimate the possible association between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and obesity in a sample of 999 psychiatrically healthy adults. Individuals with psychiatric conditions, including personality disorders, were excluded because of the association between positive serology to T. gondii and various forms of serious mental illness that have a strong association with obesity. In our sample, individuals with positive T. gondii serology had twice the odds of being obese compared to seronegative individuals (p = 0.01). Further, individuals who were obese had significant higher T. gondii IgG titers compared to individuals who were non-obese. Latent T. gondii infection is very common worldwide, so potential public health interventions related to this parasite can have a high impact on associated health concerns.

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; body weight; inflammation; obesity; parasitic infection.

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References

1. Kelley T, Yang W, Chen CS, Reynolds K, He J. Global burden of obesity in 2005 and projections to 2030. Int J Obes (2008) 32(9):1431–710.1038/ijo.2008.102 - DOI - PubMed
1. Wang C, Coups EJ. Causal beliefs about obesity and associated health behaviors: results from a population-based survey. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act (2010) 7:19.10.1186/1479-5868年7月19日 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Rao G, Burke LE, Spring BJ, Ewing LJ, Turk M, Lichtenstein AH, et al. New and emerging weight management strategies for busy ambulatory settings: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association endorsed by the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Circulation (2011) 124(10):1182–20310.1161/CIR.0b013e31822b9543 - DOI - PubMed
1. Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, Lew AM, Samuels B, Chatman J. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. Am Psychol (2007) 62(3):220–3310.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220 - DOI - PubMed
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[1] Kelley T, Yang W, Chen CS, Reynolds K, He J. Global burden of obesity in 2005 and projections to 2030. Int J Obes (2008) 32(9):1431–710.1038/ijo.2008.102 - DOI - PubMed

[2] Kelley T, Yang W, Chen CS, Reynolds K, He J. Global burden of obesity in 2005 and projections to 2030. Int J Obes (2008) 32(9):1431–710.1038/ijo.2008.102 - DOI - PubMed

[3] Wang C, Coups EJ. Causal beliefs about obesity and associated health behaviors: results from a population-based survey. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act (2010) 7:19.10.1186/1479-5868年7月19日 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Wang C, Coups EJ. Causal beliefs about obesity and associated health behaviors: results from a population-based survey. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act (2010) 7:19.10.1186/1479-5868年7月19日 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Rao G, Burke LE, Spring BJ, Ewing LJ, Turk M, Lichtenstein AH, et al. New and emerging weight management strategies for busy ambulatory settings: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association endorsed by the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Circulation (2011) 124(10):1182–20310.1161/CIR.0b013e31822b9543 - DOI - PubMed

[6] Rao G, Burke LE, Spring BJ, Ewing LJ, Turk M, Lichtenstein AH, et al. New and emerging weight management strategies for busy ambulatory settings: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association endorsed by the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Circulation (2011) 124(10):1182–20310.1161/CIR.0b013e31822b9543 - DOI - PubMed

[7] Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, Lew AM, Samuels B, Chatman J. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. Am Psychol (2007) 62(3):220–3310.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220 - DOI - PubMed

[8] Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, Lew AM, Samuels B, Chatman J. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. Am Psychol (2007) 62(3):220–3310.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220 - DOI - PubMed

[9] Dhurandhar NV. Infectobesity: obesity of infectious origin. J Nutr (2001) 131(10):2794S–7S - PubMed

[10] Dhurandhar NV. Infectobesity: obesity of infectious origin. J Nutr (2001) 131(10):2794S–7S - PubMed

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A Positive Association between T. gondii Seropositivity and Obesity

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A Positive Association between T. gondii Seropositivity and Obesity

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

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