Owning cats might increase risk of developing schizophrenia: Study

A new study published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin explored that people who own cats are at double risk of developing schizophrenia and other related disorders. Past studies have found that there is a potential connection between cat ownership and schizophrenia and put forward that exposure to the Toxoplasma gondii parasite could be the culprit. Subsequent studies also showed that living with cats since childhood might increase the risk of developing schizophrenia.

17 Studies have been conducted for 44 years in different 11 countries. These studies review that cat ownership could double the risk of developing schizophrenia and other related disorders among human beings.

What is schizophrenia?

It is one of the most complex and severe mental disorders. It is a serious condition that affects daily life of an individual and the hallmark of the condition is a break from reality and withdrawal into their own world of delusions and hallucinations. People who are diagnosed with schizophrenia have trouble with thinking and a lack of motivation.

Toxoplasma gondii when transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected cat or its feces can cause higher risk of schizophrenia.
More than 1 million people in India have been diagnosed with this disorder, which can cause troubling symptoms such as hearing noises and experiencing problems with thinking clearly.

Psychotic symptoms may caused by cat parasite

Toxoplasma gondii parasite may cause psychotic symptoms. It can get into the central nervous system and affect neurotransmitters which cause personality changes, psychotic symptoms, and neurological disorders.

The parasite has not been proven to have transferred to humans via cats. The studies could not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between them.

After various studies and reviews, we explore that individuals having cats had approximately twice the odds of adapting schizophrenia

Researchers