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A new study has shown that long-term, low-dose exposure to pesticides increases the risk for developing Parkinson''s disease by 70 percent.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health examined lifestyle data provided by 143,000 participants of the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, which was launched in 1992.
As part of the study, participants were asked to provide information about pesticide exposure, as well as their exposure to a host of other chemicals.
A total of 413 participants ended up developing Parkinson''s disease. Over eight percent of men in this group reported exposure to pesticides compared with a little more than three percent of women.
After adjusting for variables and other risk factors, researchers concluded that that the incidence of Parkinson''s disease was 70 percent higher in those who reported pesticide exposure than those who did not.
“This is the first large human study that shows that exposure to pesticide is associated with a higher incidence of Parkinson''s,” said Dr. Alberto Ascherio, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study.
Dr. Ascherio added that the increased risk for developing the disease is relative. “Whereas normally the lifetime risk for developing Parkinson''s is three percent, pesticide exposure will bring the risk to five percent,” he said.
The team of researchers, whose study will be published in the July issue of the Annals of Neurology , did not assess the length, frequency, or strength of pesticide exposure. However, they found no differences between occupational and non-occupational exposure in terms of risk.
Another recent study found that pesticide exposure boosted the risk of Parkinson''s disease specifically in men. That study was conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic and published in the June issue of Movement Disorders .
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