Pet Theory: Parasites in Cats Increase Mental Imbalance And Suicide Risk

A new study come up by the researchers at the University of Maryland School astonishes many pet lovers. IT shows link between a cat parasite and increased suicidal tendencies in people, especially women.

The cats carry with them a parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii that poses a threat to mental health.

Toxoplasmosis is often symptom-free, but can be dangerous in people with weak immune systems or during pregnancy, since the parasite may be passed to babies.

Some studies have linked the parasite to a higher chance of developing schizophrenia, and researchers believe because the T. gondii parasite lives in the brain, it could have an effect on emotions and behavior.

For the study the researchers analyzed data from 45000 Danish Women who gave birth between 1992 and 1995 and whose babies were screened for T. Gondii. The reason being, the antibody takes nearly three months to develop in babies.  If this was present in the babies, it definitely indicated that the mothers had also been infected.

The researchers then combed through all of the women's records for suicide attempts and found about 517 of them had tried to kill themselves, with 78 of these women attempting violent methods. Of the 18 succeeded in killing themselves, eight had T-gondii infections.

Results showed that women infected with toxoplasma gondii, a parasite spread through cat feces, were 1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide than women who were not infected. The researchers also discovered adose-response relationship between suicide risk and exposure to the parasite (i.e. higher levels of blood antibodies were associated with a higher suicide risk). The association was even stronger for violent suicide attempts.

Researchers estimate that T. gondii is carried by 10% to 20% of Americans, who can get it by changing litter used by infected cats or eating undercooked meat from an animal carrying the bug.

Teodor Postolache, a University of Maryland psychiatrist and senior author of the paper said, "That's not a huge increase, but it's probably too big to have been caused by chance. Still, the absolute risk of suicide remains very small. Fewer than 1,000 of the women attempted any sort of self-directed violence during the 30-year study span. And just seven committed suicide. But this isn't the first time T. gondii infection, or toxoplasmosis, has been associated with behavioural changes in people."

The previous studies done show links to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and chances of automobile accident.

This life taking parasite resides in the intestine of the cats. This parasite attacks the humans when they change the litter box. But the chances of being infected are more when people consume vegetables or meat that is raw or undercooked.

Postolache concluded saying, "People should not give their cats away because of this study. If we can identify a causal relationship, we may be able to predict those at increased risk for attempting suicide and find ways to intervene."