Toxoplasma gondii infection and premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome. The influence ofToxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection on clinical features in women with this disorder has not been studied. Therefore, we determined the association ofT. gondii infection with symptoms and signs in women suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 151 women suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies were detected in sera of the participants using enzyme-linked immunoassays (EIAs). In addition,T. gondii DNA was detected in whole blood of IgG seropositive participants using polymerase chain reaction. We obtained the clinical data of women with the aid of a questionnaire. The association ofT. gondii infection with clinical characteristics of women was assessed by bivariate and multivariate analyses.

Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 10 (6.6%) of the 151 women studied. Of the 10 IgG seropositive women, four (40.0%) were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies, and one (10.0%) forT. gondii DNA. Mean number (25.8 7.58) of premenstrual clinical characteristics in seropositive women was similar to that (29.22 9.13) found in seronegative women (P = 0.25). Logistic regression showed that seropositivity toT. gondii was negatively associated with difficulty concentrating (OR: 0.18; 95% CI: 0.03 - 0.91; P = 0.03), and positively associated with out of control feeling or overwhelmed (OR: 9.00; 95% CI: 1.32 - 62.00; P = 0.02).

Conclusions: Results of this first study on the association ofT. gondii infection and clinical characteristics of premenstrual dysphoric disorder suggest that this infection might be linked to some symptoms of this disorder. We report for the first time the association ofT. gondii infection and out of control feeling or overwhelmed. Results warrant for further research on the role ofT. gondii in premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

J Clin Med Res. 2016;8(10):730-736
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jocmr2699w