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Maternal antibodies to infectious agents and risk for non-affective psychoses in the offspring--a matched case-control study
Schizophrenia Research, 08/02/2012
Clinical Article
Blomstrom A et al. – This study supports findings of maternal exposure to T. gondii and schizophrenia risk in offspring, and extends the risk to also include maternal exposure to cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Methods- This case–control study included 198 individuals born in Sweden 1975–85, diagnosed with schizophrenia (ICD–10, F20) and other non–affective psychoses (ICD–10, F21–29) as in– or outpatients, and 524 matched controls.
- Specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in archived neonatal dried blood samples from these individuals were determined by immunoassays.
- Reference levels were determined by prevalences among pregnant women in Sweden 1975–85.
- Odds ratios (OR) for schizophrenia and other non–affective psychoses were calculated, considering maternal and gestational factors as covariates.
- Levels of IgG directed at T. gondii corresponding to maternal exposure was associated with subsequent schizophrenia (OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.0–4.5) as were levels of IgG directed at CMV (OR=2.2, 95% CI 1.0–5.1) but not at HSV–1 or –2.
- There were even stronger associations with higher levels of T. gondii or CMV antibodies.
- There were no associations between any of the infectious agents and other non–affective psychoses.