Latent toxoplasmosis, Cytomegalovirus, and Herpes Simplex Virus infections and risk of motorcycle accidents: A case-control study in a county with a high rate of motorcycle injuries in Iran.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case-control study
PubMed 39172983 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0307950
What was done
Researchers conducted a case-control study in Jahrom, Iran, evaluating 176 male motorcyclists. The study compared 88 survivors of motorcycle accidents (cases) against 88 motorcyclists without a history of accidents (controls). Serum levels of IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) were measured via ELISA to detect latent infection status.
What was found
Toxoplasma gondii IgG seropositivity was significantly lower in the accident group (11/88, 12.5%) than in the control group (22/88, 25.0%), showing an inverse association (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.19–0.95, p = 0.03). CMV seroprevalence did not differ significantly between cases (94.3%) and controls (87.5%; OR = 2.37, 95% CI: 0.78–7.13, p = 0.12). Similarly, HSV seroprevalence showed no significant difference between cases (63.6%) and controls (62.5%; OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.57–1.94, p = 0.87).
Why it matters
Contrary to previous literature linking latent toxoplasmosis to increased traffic accident risk, this study observed a lower rate of T. gondii seropositivity among motorcycle accident survivors, challenging generalized assumptions about neurotropic infections and accident vulnerability.
Limits
The sample size is relatively small (n = 176) and restricted solely to men from a single county in Iran. The case group included only accident survivors, introducing potential survival bias if fatal crashes were excluded. Unmeasured behavioral, driving exposure, and sociodemographic confounders were not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- contradicts Most motorcycle accident victims are infected with Toxoplasma gondii.