Toxoplasma gondii and multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Calogero Edoardo Cicero (1) , Francesca Elsa Allibrio (1) , Loretta Giuliano (1) , Jaime Luna (2) , Pierre‐marie Preux (2, 3, 4) , Alessandra Nicoletti (1)

1 Unict - Università degli studi di Catania = University of Catania
2 NET - Neuroépidémiologie Tropicale
3 SIME - Service de l'Information Médicale et de l'Évaluation [CHU Limoges]
4 Laboratoire de Biostatistique et d'Informatique Médicale

Background and purpose: According to the hygiene hypothesis, infections by agents such as parasites have a protective role against the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Among parasites, Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular parasite, showed evidence of a protective effect. This study was undertaken to summarize the available evidence on the association between T. gondii infection and MS. Methods: A systematic review of all the available articles published up to November 2020 has been conducted independently by two investigators in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Lissa, and SciELO. The association between T. gondii infection and MS has been pooled with a random effects model. Results: From 562 articles, seven were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis for a global population of 752 MS cases and 1282 controls. T. gondii infection was associated with MS with a pooled odds ratio of 0.68 (95% confidence interval = 0.50-0.93). Conclusions: The available evidence supports the hypothesis that T. gondii infection represents a protective factor against the development of MS.

Mots clés: Toxoplasma gondii; hygiene hypothesis; meta-analysis; multiple sclerosis; parasitic infections

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

Calogero Edoardo Cicero, Francesca Elsa Allibrio, Loretta Giuliano, Jaime Luna, Pierre‐marie Preux, et al.. Toxoplasma gondii and multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. European Journal of Neurology, 2021, ⟨10.1111/ene.15055⟩. ⟨hal-03348824⟩