title: Parkinson's disease among gardeners exposed to pesticides--a Danish cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several studies have found positive associations between exposure to pesticides and         Parkinson's disease. As Danish gardeners have had frequent, intensive exposure to pesticides, the aim of this         study was to investigate their risk for Parkinson's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohort was comprised of 3124 male         members of the Danish Union of Gardeners on 1 April 1975. Hospital register data were used to follow them for a primary         diagnosis of Parkinson's disease during 1977-2008 and to calculate standardized hospitalization rate ratios         (SHR) for this disease among gardeners and the general Danish population for comparison. Data from the Danish Cancer         Registry were used to calculate standardized incidence rate ratios (SIR) for smoking-related cancers among gardeners         and the general population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SHR for Parkinson's disease among gardeners was close to that of the         general population [1.14, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.76-1.65]. In a birth cohort analysis, a downward         trend was observed, with the highest risk among gardeners born before 1915 (SHR 1.55, 95% CI 0.77-2.77). The SIR         for smoking-related cancers did not differ from that of the general population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate a weak         but dose-related association between exposure to pesticides and risk for Parkinson's disease; however, the         results were based on 28 cases and the possibility of no association cannot be ruled out.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark. kenborg@cancer.dk
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kenborg
authors.forename: Christina Funch
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lassen
authors.forename: Flemming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lander
authors.forename: Jørgen H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Olsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D051639:Gardening; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides