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If air pollution has many impacts on health; a new study indicates that it also plays a major role in the occurrence of Parkinson’s disease. Explanations.
Fine particles are everywhere: they circulate in the air, water and even in our blood system. The problem ? In France alone, chronic exposure to fine particles is responsible for around 40,000 premature deaths per year. But it could also cause inflammation in the brain, causing Parkinson’s disease. Explanations.
Parkinson’s: pollution increases risks by 56%
For this study, researchers observed the health data of nearly 90,000 people with Parkinson’s disease.
These candidates were geocoded according to their neighborhood of residence, to allow researchers to calculate rates of Parkinson’s disease in each region.
The average level of fine particles in these regions was subsequently calculated and certain risk factors (such as age, sex, origin, smoking history and medical care) were taken into account.
Finally, the link between previous exposure to fine particles and the subsequent risk of developing Parkinson’s disease was measured.
Result ? “Using cutting-edge geospatial analysis techniques, we were able, for the first time, to confirm a strong nationwide association between incident Parkinson’s disease and fine particulate matter in the United States. one of the researchers.
More precisely, people living in regions with significant median levels of air pollution”are at 56% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than those living in areas with the lowest levels of air pollution“, she adds.
Another notable finding of the study: the rate of people affected by the disease seemed to vary depending on the regions observed. For example, people in the western part of the United States appeared to be at lower risk.
“Regional differences in Parkinson’s disease may reflect regional differences in particle composition. Some areas may contain particles with more toxic components than others“says Brittany Krzyzanowski, PhD, researcher at the Barrow Neurological Institute and lead author of the study.
Air pollution: towards stricter measures?
For researchers, these results are therefore promising. They hope this new data will encourage politicians to take stricter environmental measures.
“Despite years of research aimed at identifying environmental risk factors for Parkinson’s disease, most efforts have focused on pesticide exposure“, regrets Brittany Krzyzanowski. “This study suggests that we should also consider air pollution as a contributing factor to the development of Parkinson’s disease“, she concludes.