Pesticides may up Parkinson's risk

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Researchers from Aberdeen University studied the link between environmental factors and Parkinson's and other degenerative syndromes associated with the disease.

The study involved 959 people in five European countries (Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Romania and Malta) with "parkinsonism", of whom 767 had Parkinson's disease.

It found that the risk of developing Parkinson's increased according to the level of exposure to pesticides or head trauma.

People who had been exposed to low levels of pesticides were found to be 1.13 times as likely to have Parkinson's compared with those who had never been exposed.

Those who had been exposed to high levels of pesticides were 1.41 times as likely to be affected, said the study, published online ahead of print in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

In those people who had been knocked unconscious once, Parkinson's occurred 1.35 times more frequently than in those who had never been knocked out. And in those knocked out more than once, it arose 2.53 times more often.

The study, funded by the European Commission, is one of the largest case-control studies to date of genetic, environmental and occupational risk factors for Parkinson's disease or other degenerative parkinsonian syndromes.

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and development for the Parkinson's Disease Society, said the research reinforced the belief that the disease is caused by more than one factor.

But he added: "The study does gives some indication of potential risk factors, however this would need to be repeated in other study groups to confirm the findings."