by A recent study conducted by researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute has revealed that individuals living in regions with moderate levels of air pollution are 56 percent more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease compared to those residing in areas with the lowest levels of air pollution.
The study, set to be published in the medical journal Neurology, aimed to identify national and geographic patterns of Parkinson’s disease and test for associations with fine particulate matter on a nationwide and region-specific level.
Previous research has shown that fine particulate matter can cause brain inflammation, which is a known mechanism for the development of Parkinson’s disease, according to Dr. Brittany Krzyzanowski, a researcher at Barrow Neurological Institute and lead author of the study. Utilizing advanced geospatial analytical techniques, the researchers were able to confirm a strong nationwide association between incident Parkinson’s disease and fine particulate matter in the United States.
The study also discovered that the relationship between air pollution and Parkinson’s disease varied in intensity across different regions of the country. The Mississippi-Ohio River Valley was identified as a hotspot for Parkinson’s disease, along with central North Dakota, parts of Texas, Kansas, eastern Michigan, and the tip of Florida. Conversely, individuals living in the western half of the U.S. were found to have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to the rest of the nation.
While the study did not specifically investigate the sources of air pollution in these regions, Dr. Krzyzanowski noted that the Mississippi-Ohio River Valley has a high road network density and includes the rust belt, where pollution may contain more combustion particles from traffic and heavy metals from manufacturing. These substances have been linked to cell death in the brain region associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Using a Medicare dataset of nearly 22 million individuals, the researchers identified almost 90,000 people with Parkinson’s disease for the geographic study. By geocoding the participants’ addresses, the researchers calculated the rates of Parkinson’s disease within each region and also determined the average annual concentrations of fine particulate matter in those specific areas. After adjusting for other risk factors such as age, sex, race, smoking history, and medical care utilization, the researchers were able to establish an association between previous exposure to fine particulate matter and an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Dr. Krzyzanowski believes that population-based geographic studies like this have the potential to offer valuable insights into the role of environmental toxins in the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, the same methodology can be applied to other neurological health outcomes.
The hope of the researchers is that the data from this study will push for stricter policies aimed at reducing air pollution levels, thereby decreasing the risk of Parkinson’s disease and other associated illnesses.
Dr. Krzyzanowski notes that while years of research have been dedicated to identifying the environmental risk factors for Parkinson’s disease, most efforts have focused on pesticide exposure. This study suggests that air pollution should also be considered a potential contributor to the development of Parkinson’s disease.
Funding for the Barrow study was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
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