14 DAY TRIAL // For some time now, scientists have been drawing attention to a possible correlation between the development of Parkinson's Disease and smoking. Studies have demonstrated that people who smoke for a very long time have lower chances of developing the condition, as opposed to their peers who do not light cigarettes regularly. A new scientific investigation adds to these findings, arguing that the correlation is actually formed between the number of years a person has spent smoking, rather than the number of cigarettes that were consumed. The experts say that smoking excessively was not associated with a reduction in Parkinson's risk, PhysOrg reports.
“These results could guide the development of studies on various tobacco components with animal models to help understand the relationship between smoking and Parkinson's disease. Research to reveal the underlying chemicals and mechanisms is warranted; such studies may lead to a better understanding of the causes of Parkinson's disease. However, given the many adverse consequences of smoking, no one would suggest smoking in order to prevent Parkinson's disease,” says National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences expert Honglei Chen, MD, PhD.
The expert is also the author of a new paper accompanying the study, which appears in the March 2010 issue of the American Academy of Neurology's Medical journal Neurology. The investigation was conducted on people aged 50 to 71, who all had to fill out questionnaires focused on determining their diets and lifestyles at various points in time. Some 305,468 members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) were a part of the research. The researchers found that, over the study period, some 1,662 people had developed Parkinson's, or roughly 0.5 percent.
In the case of smokers in the study group, they were about 44 percent less likely than others to develop the condition. In addition, those who were determined to have smoked in the past, but had quit in the mean time, were found to be 22 percent less likely than non-smokers to exhibit symptoms related to the mental disorder. However, the team behind the investigation points out that smoking does not reduce the severity of the condition if Parkinson's sets in. They also do not reduce the risk of a patient dying from the condition. In other words, cigarettes are not a cure for this terrible disease.