Toxoplasmosis and Metabolic Disorders among Children with Autism

Abstract

It has recently come to light that toxoplasmosis may be linked to a number of neurological and developmental conditions, including  autism, and the current study aimed to screen for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in children with autism and metabolic changes that may be  related to toxoplasmosis. The study was conducted from November 2023 to February 2024 in Baghdad, Iraq. A total of 88 children between the ages of 2-11 years participated in this study. A psychopathologist diagnosed 44 of them with autism, while the remaining 44  were regarded as the control group because they did not exhibit any autistic symptoms. Each child had serum samples drawn and  analysed for the following: lipid profile, anthropometric measurements, anti-Toxoplasma antibodies, adiponectin, leptin, chemerine, and  Adipocyte Fatty Acid-Binding Protein (AFABP). Metabolic syndrome was assessed in each participant. Of the patients with autism, 31.82% showed anti-Toxoplasma antibodies compared to only 11.36% in the control group. A significant correlation (p<0.01) was found between  the seropositivity rates of T. gondii and autism. Four subgroups were established based on previous findings: Autism-Toxoplasma- positive, Autism-Toxoplasma-negative, controlToxoplasma-positive, and control-Toxoplasma-negative. There was no statistically  significant difference in body mass index (BMI) between the control group and the autistic patients, whereas the control group with  Toxoplasma +ve had the highest BMI value when compared to the other groups. Cholesterol levels were significantly lower than the  control, while no significant differences were observed in cholesterol levels among the four subgroups. No significant differences were  observed in HDL levels among the four subgroups. The results also revealed that leptin was the only adipokine that was significantly  increased in patients with autism. In contrast, adiponectine, chemerine, and AFABPlevels did not significantly vary among the subgroups.  Finally, metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with autism (P< 0.05).