title: Pesticide exposure and risk of Parkinson's disease: a family-based case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pesticides and correlated lifestyle factors (e.g., exposure to well-water and farming) are repeatedly reported risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD), but few family-based studies have examined these relationships.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using 319 cases and 296 relative and other controls, associations of direct pesticide application, well-water consumption, and farming residences/occupations with PD were examined using generalized estimating equations while controlling for age-at-examination, sex, cigarette smoking, and caffeine consumption.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, individuals with PD were significantly more likely to report direct pesticide application than their unaffected relatives (odds ratio = 1.61; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.29). Frequency, duration, and cumulative exposure were also significantly associated with PD in a dose-response pattern (p </= 0.013). Associations of direct pesticide application did not vary by sex but were modified by family history of PD, as significant associations were restricted to individuals with no family history. When classifying pesticides by functional type, both insecticides and herbicides were found to significantly increase risk of PD. Two specific insecticide classes, organochlorines and organophosphorus compounds, were significantly associated with PD. Consuming well-water and living/working on a farm were not associated with PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data corroborate positive associations of broadly defined pesticide exposure with PD in families, particularly for sporadic PD. These data also implicate a few specific classes of pesticides in PD and thus emphasize the need to consider a more narrow definition of pesticides in future studies.
authors: Center for Human Genetics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. dana.hancock@duke.edu
authors: Dana B
authors: DB
authors: Hancock
authors: Eden R
authors: ER
authors: Martin
authors: Gregory M
authors: GM
authors: Mayhew
authors: Jeffrey M
authors: JM
authors: Stajich
authors: Rita
authors: R
authors: Jewett
authors: Mark A
authors: MA
authors: Stacy
authors: Burton L
authors: BL
authors: Scott
authors: Jeffery M
authors: JM
authors: Vance
authors: William K
authors: WK
authors: Scott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides