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Volume 9, Number 11—November 2003
Synopsis

Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia

E. Fuller Torrey*Comments to Author  and Robert H. Yolken†
Author affiliations: *Stanley Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; †Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Main Article

Table

Toxoplasmosis antibody studies of psychiatric patients

Y Author and country Test used Patients Controls % Patients antibody positive % Controls antibody positive p value
chi square
Before 1980
1953 Kozar (15)
Poland Skin test Psychiatric inpatients, all diagnoses Healthy persons, ages 18–60 52 (495/961) 25 (170/681) <0.0001
1956 Vojtechovská et al. (16)
Czechoslovakia Skin test Inpatients with “psychosis” General population 59 (68/116) 30 (not specified) <0.0001
1956 Wende (17)
East Germany Dye test Inpatients with schizophrenia Inpatients with neurologic disorders 8 (3/38) 5 (24/520) 0.418
1957 Jirovec et al. (18)
Czechoslovakia Skin test Inpatients with schizophrenia Normal population 48 (238/501) 29 (286/970) <0.0001
1958 Buentello (19)
Mexico Color change
in fish Inpatients with schizophrenia Normal subjects 69 (29/42) 0 (0/60) <0.0001
1958 Caglieris (20)
Italy Dye test Inpatients with schizophrenia Normal subjects 21 (13/61) 15 (12/81) 0.376
1961 Cook & Derrick (21)
Australia Dye test
C.F. Inpatients with schizophrenia General population 36 (19/53) ≥1:16
11 (6/53) ≥1:4 24 (182/760)
13 (99/760) 0.053
0.840
1962 Yegerov et al. (22)
Russia Skin test
C.F. Inpatients with schizophrenia Hospital employees 19 (7/37)
32 (12/37) 4 (1/25)
28 (7/25) 0.124
0.784
1962 Avlavidov (23)
Bulgaria Skin test
C.F. Psychiatric inpatients, not specified Female surgical patients 26 (5/19)
21 (3/14) 3 (1/35)
9 (3/34) 0.017
0.339
1966 Berengo et al. (24)
Italy Dye test Inpatients with schizophrenia General population 14 (76/560) 4% (49/1200) <0.0001
1966 Roch & Varela (25)
Mexico Dye test Schizophrenia, hospital status not specified General population 86% (836/973) 30% (4,411/14,689) <0.0001
1968 Garrido & Redondo (26)
Spain C.F. Inpatients with schizophrenia General population 44 (17/39) 29 (147/500) 0.072
1979 Garcia (27)
Cuba Skin test Psychiatric inpatients Normal persons 60 (60/100) 30 (30/100) <0.0001
Since 1999
1999 Qiuying et al. (28)
China EIA Inpatients with schizophrenia Normal persons from same region for routine physicals 14 (22/152) 10 (41/396) 0.181
2001 Gu et al. (29)
China EIA First-episode schizophrenia Normal controls matched for age, sex, birthplace 33 (45/135) 9 (4/43) 0.002
2001 Yolken et al. (30)
Germany EIA: IgG or IgM First-episode schizophrenia Normal controls matched for age, sex, SES 42 (16/38) 11 (3/27) 0.007
2002 Boronow et al. (31)
United States EIA Outpatients with schizophrenia Normal controls matched for age 12 (28/229) 7 (7/100) 0.147
2003 Leweke et al. (32)
Germany EIA First-episode schizophrenia, never treated Normal controls matched for age, sex, SES 36 (13/36) 14 (10/73) <0.007
2003 Torrey & Yolken (unpub. data)
Ireland EIA Inpatients with schizophrenia Hospital employees 60 (31/52) 45 (9/20) 0.299

C.F., complement fixation; EIA, enzyme immunoassay; Ig, immunoglobulin; SES, socioeconomic status.

Main Article

Page created: January 21, 2011
Page updated: January 21, 2011
Page reviewed: January 21, 2011
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