{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T05:56:27Z","timestamp":1781762187801,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,23]],"date-time":"2024-02-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708646400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100017418","name":"Universidad de Especialidades Esp\u00edritu Santo","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MEDI04022016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MEDI04022016"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100017418","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Schizophrenia, a complex neuropsychiatric disorder, is believed to be influenced by various factors including environmental exposures. A potential environmental factor is the infection by the obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii which affects neurotransmitter levels, which could potentially exacerbate, trigger symptoms of schizophrenia or make them worst.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>To investigate the association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and psychopathological presentation in persons with schizophrenia in Ecuador.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study was conducted at the Neuroscience Institute of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Among 368 inpatients, 104 were selected based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics captured patient characteristics and mental health outcomes. Logistic regression models estimated the effect of toxoplasmosis on various mental health outcomes, controlling for demographic and health-related variables.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n<jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>86.5% of participants were seropositive for toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma-seropositive schizophrenic patients had a lower risk of depression but a significantly higher risk of disorientation. The most prevalent mental health outcomes were Language Impairments (70.2%) and Bizarre Behavior (76.0%).<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec005\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Our findings suggest that Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity may have specific effects on mental functions in schizophrenic patients, particularly reducing the risk of depression but increasing the risk of disorientation. Further studies are required to clarify these associations and the potential underlying mechanisms.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0297523","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,23]],"date-time":"2024-02-23T19:02:13Z","timestamp":1708714933000},"page":"e0297523","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Associations between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and psychopathological manifestations in schizophrenic patients: A single-center study from Ecuador"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5074-4524","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Diego","family":"Rosado","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Belen","family":"Intriago","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Evelyn","family":"Loor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Flor","family":"Alc\u00edvar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jorge","family":"Avila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mario","family":"Sotomayor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Larissa","family":"Villacres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Faytong-Haro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0297523.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1016\/j.exppara.2013.08.012","article-title":"A potential association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and schizophrenia in mouse models","volume":"135","author":"T Wang","year":"2013","journal-title":"Exp Parasitol"},{"key":"pone.0297523.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1375","DOI":"10.3201\/eid0911.030143","article-title":"Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia","volume":"9","author":"EF Torrey","year":"2003","journal-title":"Emerg Infect Dis"},{"key":"pone.0297523.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1033","DOI":"10.17219\/acem\/61435","article-title":"Relationship between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia: A review","volume":"26","author":"A Fuglewicz","year":"2017","journal-title":"Adv Clin Exp Med"},{"key":"pone.0297523.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1319","DOI":"10.1002\/hsr2.1319","article-title":"Global seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients with mental and neurological disorders: A systematic review and meta\u2010analysis","volume":"6","author":"H Bisetegn","year":"2023","journal-title":"Health Science Reports"},{"key":"pone.0297523.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2007.07101637","article-title":"The Risk for Schizophrenia From Childhood and Adult Infections","volume":"165","author":"AS Brown","year":"2008","journal-title":"AJP"},{"key":"pone.0297523.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15092","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-16420-y","article-title":"Association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and psychiatric disorders: a cross-sectional study in China","volume":"12","author":"T Liu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"pone.0297523.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.073635","article-title":"Influence of latent Toxoplasma infection on human personality, physiology and morphology: pros and cons of the Toxoplasma\u2013human model in studying the manipulation hypothesis","volume":"216","author":"J. 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