MatthewJun 29, 2024

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/06/pet-health-benefits-mixed/678841/

No mention of #toxoplasmosis ! It attacks the nervous system of rats to attract them to cats! Its effects on humans are largely unknown. Pregnant and breast-feeding mothers are warned to avoid the litter box because of this. An infected infant is more than twice as likely to be #autistic.[^1]

What about #dogs ?
They step in and roll in poop and dead things, bringing them into your house and onto your petting hand!

[^1]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32777351/

Nobody Really Knows If Pets Are Good for Your Health

The science of pet ownership could use a reality check.

The Atlantic
Show threadKodyJun 29, 2024
@mrblissett I’m not seeing that 90% figure you stated represented in the literature but I could be missing something. Can you link the study that claims an infected infant has a 90% chance of being autistic?
Show threadMatthewJun 29, 2024

@Musicgasm
yup I put the link in.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32777351/

Relationship between toxoplasmosis and autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis - PubMed

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a foodborne parasite that is investigated in many psychiatric diseases, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Therefore, a systematic literature review was conducted searching seven electronic databases on the prevalence of T. gondii antibodies among autism patien …

PubMed
Show threadKody
@mrblissett The study you linked does not state that 90% of infected infants develop ASD. Were you looking at the CI (confidence interval)? Anyway, the study concluded that there was a significant association but I didn’t 90%.
Jun 29, 2024 at 1:38pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadMatthewJun 29, 2024

@Musicgasm
Yes I conflated CI with OR. Editing...

The OR is 2.62:1 !

Show threadKodyJun 29, 2024
@mrblissett it’s a very interesting association I’d not heard of before. I’m excited to read more studies on it for sure.