Air pollution contributes to the development of Parkinson's disease

People living in areas with average levels of air pollution have a 56% increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, researchers from the Barrow Neurological Institute and Washington University (USA) have concluded. The scientific article was published in the journal Neurology.

Previous studies have shown that small particulate matter, when ingested, can cause inflammation in the brain. In the new paper, scientists, using state-of-the-art spatial analytical techniques, were able to confirm that air pollution contributes to Parkinson's disease.

The team analyzed a Medicare dataset of nearly 22 million people. Of these, 90,000 participants were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The experts looked at the neighborhoods where these patients lived, which allowed them to estimate the incidence rate in each region of the US. They also calculated the average annual concentrations of fine particulate matter in these locations. The experts took into account the age, gender, and race of the participants, as well as their smoking history, health status, etc., to rule out the influence of these factors on the outcome.

In the end, they found that exposure to fine particulate matter more than doubled the likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease. Study participants who lived in areas with average levels of air pollution had a 56% increased chance of getting the disease - compared to people who lived in cleaner regions.

The authors of the paper hope that the findings will lead to stricter policies that reduce air pollution and reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease and other related conditions.