Open AccessThe global seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in women who had spontaneous abortion: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Author(s) -
Tooran Nayeri,
Shahabeddin Sarvi,
Mahmood Moosazadeh,
Afsaneh Amouei,
Zahra Hosseininejad,
Ahmad Daryani
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008103
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , abortion , toxoplasma gondii , medicine , obstetrics , pregnancy , odds ratio , confidence interval , meta analysis , antibody , immunology , gynecology , biology , serology , genetics
Background Toxoplasma gondii ( T . gondii ) is an intracellular pathogen that can lead to abortion in pregnant women infected with this parasite. Therefore, the present study aimed to estimate the global seroprevalence of anti- T . gondii antibodies in women who had spontaneous abortion based on the results of published articles and evaluate the relationship between seroprevalence of anti- T . gondii antibodies and abortion via a systematical review and meta-analysis. Methods Different databases were searched in order to gain access to all studies on the seroprevalence of anti- T . gondii antibodies in women who had spontaneous abortion and association between seroprevalence of anti- T . gondii antibodies and abortion published up to April 25 th , 2019. Odds ratio (OR) and the pooled rate seroprevalence of T . gondii with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the random effects model. Results In total, 8 cross-sectional studies conducted on 1275 women who had abortion in present pregnancy, 40 cross-sectional studies performed on 9122 women who had a history of abortion, and 60 articles (involving 35 cross-sectional studies including 4436 women who had spontaneous abortion as case and 10398 as control and 25 case-control studies entailing 4656 cases and 3178 controls) were included for the final analyses. The random-effects estimates of the prevalence of anti- T . gondii IgG antibody in women who had abortion in present pregnancy and women who had a history of abortion were 33% (95% CI: 17%-49%) and 43% (95% CI: 27%-60%), respectively. In addition, the pooled OR for anti- T . gondii IgG antibody in cross-sectional and case-control studies among women who had spontaneous abortion were 1.65 (95% CI: 1.31–2.09) and 2.26 (95% CI: 1.56–3.28), respectively. Also, statistical analysis showed that the pooled OR of the risk of anti- T . gondii IgM antibody 1.39 (95% CI: 0.61–3.15) in cross-sectional and 4.33 (95% CI: 2.42–7.76) in case-control studies. Conclusion Based on the results of the current study, T . gondii infection could be considered a potential risk factor for abortion. It is recommended to carry out further and more comprehensive investigations to determine the effect of T . gondii infection on abortion to prevent and control toxoplasmosis among pregnant women around the world.