Researchers explore the relationship between vitamin D levels and T. gondii infection

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 26 2022

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with high susceptibility to infections. The authors of this article explore the relationship between vitamin D levels andToxoplasma gondii(T. gondii) infection, on the basis of a nationally representative database.

The study data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2001-2004. Participants underwent bothToxoplasmaIgG antibody testing and serum vitamin D testing. Vitamin D deficiency was defined by a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level <20 ng/mL. Multivariate logistic regression and propensity score matching were used to adjust for potential confounders.

All analyses were conducted in R software. A total of 10613 participants were included. Among these, 3973 (37.4%) were vitamin D deficient, and 2070 (19.5%) were seropositive forT. gondiiIgG antibody. Vitamin D deficiency was found in 42.3% of the seropositive population, compared with 36.3% of the seronegative population (P<0.001).

After adjustment for sex, age, body mass index, smoking history, drinking history and testing season, vitamin D deficiency was associated with an elevated risk ofT. gondiiinfection (OR=1.303, 95% CI=1.136-1.495,P<0.001). This effect persisted in the propensity matching cohort.