养猫或引发心理健康问题
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.
如果你发现自己经常会突然大动肝火,那么问题可能出在自家养的猫身上.
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.
最新研究发现,间歇爆发性精神障碍（IED）患者（以突发性情绪激动为主要症状）曾经受猫排泄物中寄生虫感染的几率是其他人的两倍.
The findings suggest that toxoplasmosis, an infection from the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, may alter people's brain chemistry to cause long-term behavior problems.
调查结果表明, 这种由弓形虫引起的弓形体病, 可能会改变人们的大脑化学组成, 导致长期的行为问题.
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.
据悉,猫通过排泄物将弓形虫卵传给人类. 猫主人如果在洗完猫的粪便托盘后没有及时洗手,就会无意中在手上残留了虫卵,进而感染这种寄生虫.
Around a third of people in the UK will become infected at some point in their lives - with cat owners at particularly high risk.
在英国,大约有三分之一的人会在一生中的某个时刻受到感染,那些家里养猫的人感染风险尤其高.
Toxoplasmosis has also been linked with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, impulsivity and suicidal behavior in earlier studies.
早期有研究表明,弓形体病也与精神分裂症、躁郁症、冲动和自杀行为有关.
