Study Finds Link Between Owning Cats and Schizophrenia Risk: How Toxoplasma Gondii is Responsible

• Having cats before the age of 25 doubled the risk of schizophrenia.
• The parasite Toxoplasma gondii, present in cats, is responsible.
• The disease can be asymptomatic but can lead to severe symptoms.
• The parasite is transmitted through feces, eggs, raw meat, fruits, vegetables.
• The parasite can cause birth defects and mental disorders.
• The study was published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.
• The researchers analyzed studies from 11 countries over the past 44 years.

You grow up with cats in the house, you get schizophrenia!

Those who have cats as children or anytime before the age of 25 are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia, according to a study from the Queensland Center for Mental Health Research in Australia. Why is a parasite found at the cats all over the world, which any warm-blooded animal could catch.

You wouldn’t even know you were one of the unlucky ones to be infected, as most people who come into contact with the parasite are asymptomatic, but once they have infected, they can experience flu-like symptoms, including blindness, brain damage and even death. Most of the time, the parasite is transmitted through feces.

It can also be found in raw meat, but also in unwashed fruits and vegetables.

Contact with Toxoplasma gondii also leads to birth defects, addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The researchers Australians looked at 17 studies from 11 different countries over the past 44 years, including the US and the UK.

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