title: Do physical exercise and reading reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease? a cross-sectional study on factors associated with Parkinson's disease in elderly Chinese veterans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to investigate risk factors for and factors protecting against Parkinson's disease (PD) in elderly Chinese veterans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a database containing detailed information on the health status of the nervous system in elderly Chinese veterans, univariate and multivariate analyses of factors that may be associated with PD were performed. Univariate analysis of qualitative data was done using the Pearson Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, and the Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test was used for univariate analysis of quantitative data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for and factors protecting against PD in elderly Chinese veterans.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 9,676 elderly Chinese veterans were enrolled, including 228 cases with PD and 183 cases with Parkinson's syndrome, with 9,265 non-PD subjects serving as controls. Age (odds ratio [OR] 1.343, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.028-1.755) and medical history of essential tremor (OR 1.228, 95% CI 1.081-1.396) were identified as independent risk factors for PD, with age being the most important risk factor. Physical exercise (OR 0.478, 95% CI 0.355-0.643) and reading (OR 0.513, 95% CI 0.357-0.735) were identified as independent factors protecting against PD, and physical exercise showed better protection against PD relative to reading. Smoking, alcohol use, anemia, cerebral trauma, education level, and electromagnetic field exposure showed no association with PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physical exercise and reading may be independent factors that protect against PD among elderly Chinese veterans, while advancing age and medical history of essential tremor may be independent risk factors for PD. This study was cross-sectional, so further research is needed to confirm its results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Huanhu Hospital, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Clinical Epidemiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Command, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Chinese PLA 107 Hospital, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Clinical Epidemiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Chinese veterans; Parkinson’s disease; age; essential tremor; medical history; physical exercise; reading
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