養貓或引發心理健康問題
Owning a cat can lead to mental health problems
If you're prone to sudden bursts of anger, it could be your cat's fault.
如果你發現自己經常會突然大動肝火,那么問題可能出在自家養的貓身上.
A new study has found that people with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) - characterised by explosive bouts of rage - are twice as likely to have been infected by a parasite found in cat faeces.
最新研究發現,間歇爆發性精神障礙（IED）患者（以突發性情緒激動為主要癥狀）曾經受貓排泄物中寄生蟲感染的幾率是其他人的兩倍.
The findings suggest that toxoplasmosis, an infection from the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, may alter people's brain chemistry to cause long-term behavior problems.
調查結果表明, 這種由弓形蟲引起的弓形體病, 可能會改變人們的大腦化學組成, 導致長期的行為問題.
Cats are known to pass the parasite on to human by shedding its eggs in their faeces. People can become infected by not washing their hands after cleaning a cat's litter tray, and then unintentionally ingesting the eggs.
據悉,貓通過排泄物將弓形蟲卵傳給人類. 貓主人如果在洗完貓的糞便托盤后沒有及時洗手,就會無意中在手上殘留了蟲卵,進而感染這種寄生蟲.
Around a third of people in the UK will become infected at some point in their lives - with cat owners at particularly high risk.
在英國,大約有三分之一的人會在一生中的某個時刻受到感染,那些家里養貓的人感染風險尤其高.
Toxoplasmosis has also been linked with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, impulsivity and suicidal behavior in earlier studies.
早期有研究表明,弓形體病也與精神分裂癥、躁郁癥、沖動和自殺行為有關.
