title: Occupational risk factors for Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The evidence for associations between occupational factors and the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) is inconsistent. We assessed the risk of PD associated with various occupational factors in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 249 cases within 6 years of onset of PD. Control subjects were 369 inpatients and outpatients without neurodegenerative disease. Information on occupational factors was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. Relative risks of PD were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) based on logistic regression. Adjustments were made for gender, age, region of residence, educational level, and pack-years of smoking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Working in a professional or technical occupation tended to be inversely related to the risk of PD: adjusted OR was 0.59 (95% CI: 0.32-1.06, P = 0.08). According to a stratified analysis by gender, the decreased risk of PD for persons in professional or technical occupations was statistically significant only for men. Adjusted ORs for a professional or technical occupation among men and women were 0.22 (95% CI: 0.06-0.67) and 0.99 (0.47-2.07), respectively, and significant interaction was observed (P = 0.048 for homogeneity of OR). In contrast, risk estimates for protective service occupations and transport or communications were increased, although the results were not statistically significant: adjusted ORs were 2.73 (95% CI: 0.56-14.86) and 1.74 (95% CI: 0.65-4.74), respectively. No statistical significance was seen in data concerning exposure to occupational agents and the risk of PD, although roughly a 2-fold increase in OR was observed for workers exposed to stone or sand.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study suggest that occupational factors do not play a substantial etiologic role in this population. However, among men, professional or technical occupations may decrease the risk of PD.
authors: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan. k-tanaka@fukuoka-u.ac.jp
authors: Keiko
authors: K
authors: Tanaka
authors: Yoshihiro
authors: Y
authors: Miyake
authors: Wakaba
authors: W
authors: Fukushima
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Sasaki
authors: Chikako
authors: C
authors: Kiyohara
authors: Yoshio
authors: Y
authors: Tsuboi
authors: Tatsuo
authors: T
authors: Yamada
authors: Tomoko
authors: T
authors: Oeda
authors: Takami
authors: T
authors: Miki
authors: Nobutoshi
authors: N
authors: Kawamura
authors: Nobutaka
authors: N
authors: Sakae
authors: Hidenao
authors: H
authors: Fukuyama
authors: Yoshio
authors: Y
authors: Hirota
authors: Masaki
authors: M
authors: Nagai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors