title: Maternal T. gondii, offspring bipolar disorder and neurocognition.
abstract: Prenatal exposure to maternal Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) IgG antibody titer has been associated previously with an increased risk of offspring schizophrenia (SZ) and cognitive impairment. We examined maternal T. gondii, offspring bipolar disorder (BP) and childhood cognition using a population-based birth cohort. Maternal sera, drawn in the third trimester, were analyzed for T. gondii IgG antibody titer, and offspring cognition at ages 5 and 9-11 was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Raven Matrices (Raven). Raw scores were standardized and the ages combined. Potential cases with BP from the cohort were identified by database linkages. This protocol identified 85 cases who were matched 1:2 to controls. Maternal T. gondii IgG was not associated with the risk of BP in offspring. Neither moderate [HR=1.43 (CI: 0.49, 4.17)] nor high IgG titer [HR=1.6 [CI: 0.74, 3.48)] were associated with offspring BP. Associations were not observed between maternal T. gondii and BP with psychotic features or BP type 1. In addition, maternal T. gondii was not associated with childhood cognition. Our study suggests that T. gondii may be specific to SZ among major psychotic disorders, though further studies with larger sample sizes are required.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, 760 Westwood Plaza, A7-432, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States. Electronic address: df2379@gmail.com.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Freedman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000378:metabolism; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G
keywords: Birth cohort; Cognition; Neurodevelopment; PPVT; Psychotic disorders; Raven Matrices; Toxoplasma gondii