# Seroprevalence and Association of Toxoplasma gondii with Bone Health in a Cohort of Osteopenia and Osteoporosis Patients

## TL;DR

This study found that people with Toxoplasma gondii infection had better bone health indicators compared to those without the infection, though drug use may influence this link.

## Contribution

The study explores a novel association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and improved bone health in patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis.

## Key findings

- Toxoplasma-infected individuals showed higher bone mineral density and T/Z scores compared to uninfected individuals.
- The association between infection and better bone health was not significant after accounting for drug intake duration.
- The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among participants was 46.4%.

## Abstract

Considering the fact that Toxoplasma is a common parasite of humans and Toxoplasma bradyzoites can reside in skeletal muscle, T. gondii-mediated immune responses may modulate the progression and pathophysiology of another musculoskeletal disorder, osteoporosis. In the current study, we investigated the association of bone health and Toxoplasma gondii infection status. A total of 138 patients living in Germany with either osteopenia or osteoporosis were included in the study, and they were categorized into two groups, T. gondii uninfected (n = 74) and infected (n = 64), based on the presence of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies. The demographic and clinical details of the study subjects were collected from the medical records. Logistic regression analysis was performed to delineate the association of bone health parameters with the infection status. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis was 46.4% in the study participants. The infected individuals with osteopenia and osteoporosis showed higher levels of mean spine and femoral T score, Z score, and bone mineral density (BMD), indicating improved bone health compared to the uninfected group. Logistic regression analysis showed that subjects with T. gondii infection displayed increased odds of having a higher mean femur T score, femur BMD, and femur Z score even after adjusting for age, creatinine, and urea levels. However, when the duration of drug intake for osteoporosis was taken into account, the association lost statistical significance. In summary, in this study, an improvement in osteopenia and osteoporosis was observed in Toxoplasma-infected patients, which may be partly due to the longer duration of drug intake for osteoporosis in the infected patient group.