14 DAY TRIAL // People exposed to various chemical compounds used either as bug and weed killers or as solvents have higher chances of developing Parkinson's disease than those who seldom come in contact with such substances.
The researchers now warning about this particular health risk base their claims on data compiled while looking into the findings of 104 different studies that all targeted said chemical compounds and their association with Parkinson's disease in several corners of the world.
Gianni Pezzoli, MD, says that he and his colleagues discovered that people who practiced farming and those who lived in the countryside were more prone to displaying symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease at some point in their lives.
As far as they can tell, it is these people's exposure to weed, fungus, rodent or bug killers that ups their chances of being affected by this condition, the official website for the American Academy of Neurology informs us.
“Due to this association, there was also a link between farming or country living and developing Parkinson’s in some of the studies,” study author Emanuele Cereda says.
According to the findings of this meta-analysis, people who come in contact with either pesticides or various solvents on a fairly regular basis have roughly 33-80% more chances of developing Parkinson's disease.
“We didn’t study whether the type of exposure, such as whether the compound was inhaled or absorbed through the skin and the method of application, such as spraying or mixing, affected Parkinson’s risk.”
“However, our study suggests that the risk increases in a dose response manner as the length of exposure to these chemicals increases,” Emanuele Cereda explains.
A detailed account of this investigation into how exposure to pesticides and solvents affects Parkinson's disease risk is made available to the public in today's issue of the journal Neurology.
The research was carried out with support from the Grigioni Foundation for Parkinson's Disease and the IRCCS University Hospital San Matteo Foundation.