Statin use and the risk of Parkinson disease.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate associations between statin (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor) use and Parkinson disease (PD).


METHODS
We used a population-based design to recruit 312 incident idiopathic PD cases and 342 controls from three rural California counties.


RESULTS
We observed a higher frequency of statin use among controls vs cases (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.71) and a strong dose-response relation. The strongest protective association between statin use and PD was observed in long-term (>or=5 years) users (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.78). There was no difference by gender or age. We noted 60 to 70% risk reductions for each individual statin except pravastatin.


CONCLUSIONS
Ascribing causality to these associations is premature and further studies are needed to confirm a potential neuroprotective role for statins in PD.
Wahner
Angelika D
AD
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA. awahner@ucla.edu
Bronstein
Jeff M
JM
Bordelon
Yvette M
YM
Ritz
Beate
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors