title: Environmental risk factors in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: To investigate possible risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD) we conducted a case-control study of 150 PD patients and 150 age- and sex-matched controls. We interviewed and examined all 300 subjects. We collected demographic data including lifetime histories of places of residence, source of drinking water, and occupations such as farming. Subjects completed a detailed questionnaire regarding herbicide/pesticide exposure. Rural living and drinking well water were significantly increased in the PD patients. This was observed regardless of age at disease onset. Drinking well water was dependent on rural living. There were no significant differences between cases and controls for farming or any measure of exposure to herbicides or pesticides. These data provide further evidence that an environmental toxin could be involved in the etiology of PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66103.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Koller
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vetere-Overfield
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dolezal
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hassanein
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tanner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000383:Agriculture; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006540:Herbicides; D006801:Humans; D007615:Kansas; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D010575:Pesticides; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D006540:Herbicides; D010575:Pesticides