ArticleBMC infectious diseases2018
Environmental risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infections and the impact of latent infections on allostatic load in residents of Central North Carolina.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Urban Rats Are Linked to Zoonotic Infection Risk.Environmental science & technology letters · 2026Article
- Associations of common infections with frailty and mortality in two UK cohort studies.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Article
- Disparities in Allostatic Load Among Different Races: A Comprehensive Scoping Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Review
- Latent Toxoplasma gondii infection and associated risk factors among patients with chronic kidney disease: a registry-based study.BMC nephrology · 2025Article
- Impact of Experimental Congenital Toxoplasmosis on the Thyroid Gland: Histopathological and Immunobiochemical Indices Assessment.Acta parasitologica · 2025Article
- Toxoplasma gondii IgG Serointensity Is Positively Associated With Frailty.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024Article
- Detection, fate and transport of the biohazardous agent Toxoplasma gondii in soil water systems: Influence of soil physicochemical properties, water chemistry and surfactant.Environmental microbiology reports · 2023Article
- "Whoever takes the dog gets the house": How older adults negotiate, budget, and deploy resources for multispecies family health and well-being.Social work in mental health · 2023Article
- Back to the Future: The Role of Infections in Psychopathology. Focus on OCD.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2022Article
- Article
- Spatial distribution of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody-positive wild boars in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Synthesis of Two Decades of US EPA's Ecosystem Services Research to Inform Environmental, Community, and Sustainability Decision Making.Sustainability · 2021Article
- Latent Toxoplasma gondii infections are associated with elevated biomarkers of inflammation and vascular injury.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Greater tree cover near residence is associated with reduced allostatic load in residents of central North Carolina.Environmental research · 2020Article
- Human Cytomegalovirus Infections Are Associated With Elevated Biomarkers of Vascular Injury.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2020Article
- Review
- Environmental transmission ofFood and waterborne parasitology · 2019Review
- Socioeconomic vulnerability associated to Toxoplasma gondii exposure in southern Brazil.PloS one · 2019Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundToxoplasma gondii infection can be acquired through ingestion of infectious tissue cysts in undercooked meat or environmental oocysts excreted by cats. This cross-sectional study assessed environmental risk factors for T. gondii infections and an association between latent infections and a measure of physiologic dysregulation known as allostatic load.
methodsSerum samples from 206 adults in the Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina area were tested for immunoglobulin (IgG) responses to T. gondii using commercial ELISA kits. Allostatic load was estimated as a sum of 15 serum biomarkers of metabolic, neuroendocrine and immune functions dichotomized at distribution-based cutoffs. Vegetated land cover within 500 m of residences was estimated using 1 m resolution data from US EPA's EnviroAtlas.
resultsHandling soil with bare hands at least weekly and currently owning a cat were associated with 5.3 (95% confidence limits 1.4; 20.7) and 10.0 (2.0; 50.6) adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of T. gondii seropositivity, respectively. There was also a significant positive interaction effect of handling soil and owning cats on seropositivity. An interquartile range increase in weighted mean vegetated land cover within 500 m of residence was associated with 3.7 (1.5; 9.1) aOR of T. gondii seropositivity. Greater age and consumption of undercooked pork were other significant predictors of seropositivity. In turn, T. gondii seropositivity was associated with 61% (13%; 130%) greater adjusted mean allostatic load compared to seronegative individuals. In contrast, greater vegetated land cover around residence was associated with significantly reduced allostatic load in both seronegative (p < 0.0001) and seropositive (p = 0.004) individuals.
conclusionsResidents of greener areas may be at a higher risk of acquiring T. gondii infections through inadvertent ingestion of soil contaminated with cat feces. T. gondii infections may partially offset health benefits of exposure to the natural living environment.
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