The Association of IgG Antibody and Chronic Kidney Disease Biomarkers.

Background: () is a parasite that infects more than 40 million Americans and causes toxoplasmosis. Most cases of toxoplasmosis are asymptomatic; however, is capable of invading organs like the kidney, causing chronic infections and cell destruction.

Methods: This study focused on evaluating the association between exposure and chronic kidney disease (CKD) using data from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). exposure was assessed using IgG antibody status, and the status of CKD was assessed using the CKD biomarkers. The evaluation of risk rate and population prevalence was performed. In addition, multivariable regression models were used to further investigate this association after adjusting for sociodemographic, anthropometric, behavioral, and clinical covariates commonly associated with kidney dysfunction.

Results: The positive IgG antibody participants had significantly higher levels of CKD biomarkers, including second albumin-to-creatinine ratio ( = 0.0376), second albuminuria ( = 0.0005), and persistent albuminuria ( < 0.0001) compared to the negative participants. Furthermore, there were statistical associations between exposure and the status of CKD (negative vs. positive) ( = 0.0001), and between exposure and the CKD stage (negative, stage 1, …, stage 5) ( = 0.0004). Without adjusting for age, the positive participants had a significantly higher risk (27% higher) of having CKD than the negative participants (RRcrude = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.09-1.49). The age-adjusted prevalence of CKD was higher among Toxoplasma-positive participants compared to the Toxoplasma-negative participants (10.45 vs. 8.99). infection was significantly associated with CKD (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.06-1.84, = 0.00447) after adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and BMI. Age was positively associated with CKD (OR = 8.89, 95% CI = 6.31-12.51, < 0.0001) with the participants 45+ years old being 8.89 times more likely to have CKD than those who are <45 years old, after adjusting for infection, gender, race/ethnicity, and BMI. Moreover, positive increased the odds of CKD progression (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.07-1.86, = 0.0424).

Conclusions: Positive IgG antibody is associated with CKD and the progression of CKD stages. This association is more apparent among older people. Further investigations are needed to examine these findings in different geographical locations and among differentially exposed populations.