Comparison of Toxoplasma Gondii IgG Antibody Levels in Children and Adolescents with OCD and ADHD with Healthy Controls: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: This study was aimed to examine if there is a relation between IgG levels of T. gondi and OCD or ADHD symptoms. Method: Of 42 children with OCD, 31 with ADHD and 28 healthy control were included. Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), Moudsley Obession-Compulsion Inventory (MOCI), Child Depression Inventory (CDI), and Screen of Children for anxiety related disorders (SCARED), The Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale (T-DSM-IV-S) and The Conners’ Parent Rating Scale-48 (CPRS-48) were applied. Toxo gondii IgG values ≥3.0 IU/mL were considered to be reactive. SPSS 17.0 was used for analysis. p<.05 was accepted as significant. Results: The mean age was 12.1 years. Of 56.4% (n = 57) were boys. Depression and anxiety symptoms were similar in OCD and controls, but were significantly lower in ADHD. All children with OCD had negative (100%) for IgG levels of T. gondii, whereas 78.6% of controls and 90.3% of children with ADHD had negative for IgG levels of T. gondii. Toxo IgG seropositivity of the control was significantly higher than that of the OCD. Toxo IgG levels were positively correlated with Turgay’s ADHD-Conduct disorder subscale scores in ADHD group (r=.650, p<.001). In the OCD and the control groups, there was no correlation between IgG levels and CDI, SCARED, ADHD scales (for all variables, p>.05). Conclusion: To conclude, this study did not verify a relationship between the seropositivity of T. gondii with OCD and ADHD. Further studies are needed longitudinal follow-up and extended series of patients.