TY - JOUR
T1 - Toxoplasma gondii Infection Is Associated with Low Birth Weight
T2 - Findings from an Observational Study among Rural Bangladeshi Women
AU - Parvin, Irin
AU - Das, Sumon Kumar
AU - Ahmed, Shahnawaz
AU - Rahman, Aminur
AU - Shahid, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayeem Bin
AU - Shahrin, Lubaba
AU - Afroze, Farzana
AU - Ackhter, Mst Mahmuda
AU - Alam, Tahmina
AU - Jahan, Yasmin
AU - Palit, Parag
AU - Sarker, Mohammad Habibur Rahman
AU - Das, Jui
AU - Hoque, Mohammad Enamul
AU - Soares Magalhães, Ricardo J.
AU - Al Mamun, Abdullah
AU - Faruque, Abu Syed Golam
AU - Ahmed, Tahmeed
AU - Chisti, Mohammod Jobayer
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: The match case-control study was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency Sida’s Unrestricted Funds (protocol number: PR-14037; Grant number: 01014).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/3/10
Y1 - 2022/3/10
N2 - Gestational Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection may cause substantial adverse effects on developing fetuses, newborns and also mothers. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii among rural Bangladeshi pregnant women and determine the risk of a low birth weight (LBW). We followed a longitudinal design where 208 pregnant women were followed until the birth of their infants. Levels of IgG and IgM of T. gondii were assessed using chemiluminescent immunoassay. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate crude and adjusted associations and multiple regression analysis was performed to understand the confounding and modifying effects of the variables. Thirty-nine (19%) children were born with LBW, among whom 15 (39%) mothers were positive for T. gondii IgG during pregnancy. After adjusting for several confounders and modifiers, pregnant women with T. gondii IgG or IgM seropositivity were significantly associated with LBW of infants (aRR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.17–3.42). The strength of this association increased after adjusting for maternal education (aRR: 4.88, 95% CI: 1.74–13.69). The final model had an AROC of 0.84 with a sensitivity of 36% and specificity of 97%. Although causality is yet to be established, the study observed an association between T. gondii infection during pregnancy among rural Bangladeshi women and LBW of newborns.
AB - Gestational Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection may cause substantial adverse effects on developing fetuses, newborns and also mothers. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii among rural Bangladeshi pregnant women and determine the risk of a low birth weight (LBW). We followed a longitudinal design where 208 pregnant women were followed until the birth of their infants. Levels of IgG and IgM of T. gondii were assessed using chemiluminescent immunoassay. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate crude and adjusted associations and multiple regression analysis was performed to understand the confounding and modifying effects of the variables. Thirty-nine (19%) children were born with LBW, among whom 15 (39%) mothers were positive for T. gondii IgG during pregnancy. After adjusting for several confounders and modifiers, pregnant women with T. gondii IgG or IgM seropositivity were significantly associated with LBW of infants (aRR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.17–3.42). The strength of this association increased after adjusting for maternal education (aRR: 4.88, 95% CI: 1.74–13.69). The final model had an AROC of 0.84 with a sensitivity of 36% and specificity of 97%. Although causality is yet to be established, the study observed an association between T. gondii infection during pregnancy among rural Bangladeshi women and LBW of newborns.
KW - Bangladesh
KW - low birth weight
KW - pregnant women
KW - rural
KW - T. gondii
KW - Toxoplasma gondii
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126917306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/pathogens11030336
DO - 10.3390/pathogens11030336
M3 - Article
C2 - 35335660
SN - 2076-0817
VL - 11
JO - Pathogens
JF - Pathogens
IS - 3
M1 - 336
ER -