Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Aggression in Autistic Children

Abstract

Background: Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by the obligatory intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The main aim of this study was to evaluate a possible relationship between aggression in autistic children with infection by T. gondii. Methods: The research design was an analytical (comparative) cross sectional study. The participants included (N = 100) subjects (50 autistic and 50 normal children) between 3 and 12 years old. They were matched for age, socioeconomic status, lack of physical and mental illness. The instruments were preschool aggression scale and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedure to essay the blood sample test. Five milliliters of blood samples were collected to assess the presence of T. gondii infection. Results: The results showed that autistic children had a higher rate of infection by T. gondii than normal children. Furthermore, children infected with T. gondii were more aggressive than the noninfected group. Conclusions: In autistic children, T. gondii infection was significantly higher than in the normal group. Also, autistic children who were infected with the parasite were more aggressive.