Having Cats In The House Can Make Children Stupid, Study Warns

Owning pet cats could seriously harm your children, a new study has suggested.

A common parasite transmitted from the animals has been linked to a decrease in reading skills and reduced memory in school-aged children, acccording to University of Iowa and Florida International University researchers.

Toxoplasma Gondii infects billions of people (about a third of the world’s population) and is often transmitted from pet cats - spread through contact with faeces.

The researchers analysed reading and memory in 1755 children aged 12-16, and tested to see if they were infected with toxoplasma.

Up till now, most healthy people have been thought to suffer no adverse effects from the parasite - although in people with compromised immune systems, it can lead to a fatal brain condition.

The parasite is found in the brain, as well as the muscles, and mouse and rat studies have shown that infection triggers changes in personality.

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The researchers say, ‘The results suggest that Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity is associated with poor reading performance and impaired verbal memory.

‘Serum vitamin E seems to modify the relationship between the parasite and verbal memory with greater Toxoplasma-associated memory impairment found in participants with lower vitamin E level.

‘Future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings and research could include trials to confirm a possible efficacy of vitamin E supplementation in improving cognitive impairment hypothetically associated with the infection.’