Elevated seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in AIDS/HIV patients: A meta-analysis

Clinical toxoplasmosis in AIDS/HIV patients is a great public health concern around the world. Untreated Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii)-infections are often fatal in AIDS/HIV patients. This study aims to assess the seroprevalence and odds ratio (OR) of T. gondii in AIDS/HIV patients, as well as the potential influential factors. Studies published from December 1, 1983 to December 1, 2016 in English, which comparing the seroprevalence of T. gondii between AIDS/HIV patients and control group were searched in PubMed, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library databases. The non-weighted prevalence, pooled fixed-effect or random-effect model estimates of OR and its 95% confidence intervals (CI) were all calculated. Heterogeneity test was performed by the Q statistic and quantified using I², publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger's linear regression test. A total of 4220 articles were obtained after searching databases, and 12 studies with 2101 AIDS/HIV patients and 5851 controls were incorporated in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis revealed that, compared with the control group, the AIDS/HIV group had a higher seroprevalence of T. gondii (46.12% vs 36.56%) (OR=1.55, 95%CI: 1.19-2.04). Subgroup analyses showed that publication year, race, geographic locations and diagnostic methods are positive associated with the seroprevalence of T. gondii. Overall, our study suggests that AIDS/HIV patients have higher seroprevalence of T. gondii than those without.