Parkinson's disease: a case-control study of occupational and environmental risk factors

Am J Ind Med. 1990;17(3):349-55. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700170307.

Abstract

We compared personal histories of 57 cases and 122 age-matched controls to identify possible environmental determinants of Parkinson's disease (PD). Odds ratios (OR) adjusted for sex, age, and smoking were computed using stepwise logistic regression. We found a statistically significant increased risk for working in orchards (OR = 3.69, p = 0.012, 95% CI = 1.34, 10.27) and a marginally significant increased risk associated with working in planer mills (OR = 4.11, p = 0.065, 95% CI = 0.91, 18.50). A Fisher's exact test of the association between PD development and (1) paraquat contact, and (2) postural tremor gave statistically significant probability estimates of 0.01 and 0.03, respectively. The relative risk of PD decreased with smoking, an inverse relationship supported by many studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Agriculture
  • British Columbia / epidemiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Causality
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Fruit
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Diseases / chemically induced*
  • Occupational Diseases / epidemiology
  • Parkinson Disease, Secondary / chemically induced*
  • Parkinson Disease, Secondary / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Rural Population
  • Wood