Parkinson's disease: A case‐control study of occupational and environmental risk factors

TLDR

Smoking is inversely associated with Parkinson’s disease risk, a relationship supported by many studies. The study compared personal histories of 57 Parkinson’s disease cases and 122 matched controls to identify environmental determinants of the disease. Odds ratios adjusted for sex, age, and smoking were estimated using stepwise logistic regression. Working in orchards (OR = 3.69) and planer mills (OR = 4.11) and exposure to paraquat and postural tremor were all significantly associated with increased Parkinson’s disease risk.

Abstract

Abstract We compared personal histories of 57 cases and 122 age‐matched controls to identify possible environmental determinants of Parkinson's disease (PD). Odds ratios (OR) adjusted for sex, age, and smoking were computed using stepwise logistic regression. We found a statistically significant increased risk for working in orchards (OR = 3.69, p = 0.012, 95% CI = 1.34, 10.27) and a marginally significant increased risk associated with working in planer mills (OR = 4.11, p = 0.065, 95% Cl = 0.91, 18.50). A Fisher's exact test of the association between PD development and (1) paraquat contact, and (2) postural tremor gave statistically significant probability estimates of 0.01 and 0.03, respectively. The relative risk of PD decreased with smoking, an inverse relationship supported by many studies.