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Clinical and demographic characteristics of psychiatric patients seropositive for Borrelia burgdorferi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

T. Hájek ,
J. Libiger ,
D. Janovská ,
P. Hájek ,
M. Alda  and
C. Höschl
T. Hájek*
Affiliation:
Prague Psychiatric Center, Charles University, 3rd School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, QEII, HSC, A.J.Lane Building, Room 4031, 5909 Veteran's Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 2E2
J. Libiger
Affiliation:
Prague Psychiatric Center, Charles University, 3rd School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
D. Janovská
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Charles University, 3rd School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
P. Hájek
Affiliation:
Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London, UK
M. Alda
Affiliation:
Prague Psychiatric Center, Charles University, 3rd School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, QEII, HSC, A.J.Lane Building, Room 4031, 5909 Veteran's Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 2E2
C. Höschl
Affiliation:
Prague Psychiatric Center, Charles University, 3rd School of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-902-473-4677; fax: +1-902-473-1583. E-mail address:hajek@pcp.lf3.cuni.cz (T. Hájek).
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Abstract

Purpose.

Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection can affect the central nervous system and possibly lead to psychiatric disorders. We compared clinical and demographic variables in Bb seropositive and seronegative psychiatric patients and healthy controls.

Method.

Nine hundred and twenty-six consecutive psychiatric patients were screened for antibodies to Bb and compared with 884 simultaneously recruited healthy subjects.

Results.

Contrary to healthy controls, seropositive psychiatric patients were significantly younger than seronegative ones. None of the studied psychiatric diagnostic categories exhibited stronger association with seropositivity. There were no differences between seropositive and seronegative psychiatric patients in hospitalization length, proportion of previously hospitalized patients and proportion of subjects with family history of psychiatric disorders.

Conclusion.

These findings elaborate on potential association between Bb infection and psychiatric morbidity, but fail to identify any specific clinical ‘signature’ of Bb infection.

Keywords

Borrelia burgdorferiAntibodiesPsychiatric diagnoses
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , March 2006 , pp. 118 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier SAS 2006

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