People living near a steel factory or another source of high manganese emissions are at higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
People living near a steel factory or another source of high manganese emissions are at higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
Pesticides from farms have long been suspected of increasing the chances of developing Parkinson's disease, but much less is known about the influences of city living. Environmental risk factors for Parkinson's disease have been relatively less studied. Previous research has linked heavy metals to Parkinson-like brain damage, but it isn't clear if they could also play a role in people who aren't exposed to the metals as part of their job.
Researchers analysed data on about 29 million people under health insurance in 2003 in the urban United States who hadn't changed residence from 1995 to 2003. They compared rates of Parkinson's disease to industry emissions of copper, lead and manganese. Over 35,000 Parkinson's disease cases, diagnosed by a neurologist, were identified for analysis.
It was found that less than one percent of people in urban areas developed Parkinson's disease. In counties with little or no release of the metals, 274 out of every 100,000 people had the disease, compared to 489 in counties with high manganese levels. The risk remained high even after accounting for differences in age, sex and race.
Areas with high copper emissions also saw more cases of Parkinson's, but the increase was so slight it could have been due to chance. The researchers were not sure whether or not manganese actually caused more people to get Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease in urban areas was more in counties with high reported industrial release of copper or manganese.
The researchers conclude that environmental exposure to metals is a likely risk factor for Parkinson's disease in urban areas. Although the above findings related to manganese are compelling, further studies investigating individual patient exposures and risk of Parkinson's disease are required to confirm the link.
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