Background: Toxoplasmosis appears to be not only an infectious disease with observable symptoms but also one that can affect the social and behavioral aspects of both animals and humans. These social issues, particularly memory dysfunction, may result in dangerous occurrences such as traffic accidents. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the rate of traffic accidents among individuals with positive and negative Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) serology.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in the province of Yazd, central Iran, from 2018 to 2021 based on the statistics available in the province’s laboratories. We analyzed the results of the IgG test against Toxoplasma gondii collected in the laboratories of Yazd, Iran, from a total of 360 individuals with valid driver’s licenses who were divided into two groups. One group was Toxoplasma gondii-seropositive, while the other was negative. The traffic police system recorded the statistical analysis of traffic accidents from 2018 to 2021.
Results: The age of the toxoplasmosis group was slightly greater than that of the control group (36.2 and 34.08, respectively; p-value = 0.03). There was no significant difference between the toxoplasmosis group and the control group regarding driving time (p-value = 0.06). The incidence of accidents was greater in the toxoplasmosis group (36.7% vs. 20.6%; p < 0.001). This rate was significantly higher in people aged 35-69 than younger people (40% vs. 32.9%, respectively; p-value = 0.01).
Conclusion: Individuals with latent toxoplasmosis had a significantly higher risk of car accidents than those with negative serology, with the risk increasing with age. Due to contradictory findings regarding the effect of toxoplasmosis on traffic accidents and the higher incidence of toxoplasmosis in Persian cats, these findings should be considered when developing public health strategies.