Effect of toxoplasmosis on personality profiles of Iranian men and women

Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, which causes toxoplasmosis, changes the personality of people who are infected with it. The aim of this study was to compare the personality characteristics of Iranian students with and without latent toxoplasmosis. A total of 237 students (111 men and 126 women) of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (Ahvaz, Iran) were tested for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies and completed demographic questionnaires and Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. Data were analysed using multiple univariate analyses of variance. Women with latent toxoplasmosis had a significantly different personality profile from women without toxoplasmosis, namely higher O (apprehension), N (privateness) and Q4 (tension) scores, and lower Q1 (openness to change) scores. Infected men had significantly higher L (vigilance, mistrust) scores compared to non-infected men. Factors E (dominance) and Q1 (openness to change) tended to be higher in infected men than non-infected men but the difference was not quite statistically significant. Our findings have, for the first time, independently confirmed that personality profile is affected by latent toxoplasmosis.

Keywords

• Toxoplasma gondii
• personality characteristics
• Cattell’s 16PF questionnaire
• ELISA
• Iran