
Since most of the studies concerning PD and rural living were done decades ago, a recent study sought to revisit this issue since farming life has changed in recent times. Of note, all of the increased risks in these studies are small – on the order of 1.5-2 times the risk of the general population. In the end, epidemiologic data supports the assertion that each of these elements increases the risk of PD. Do only those who actually farm have an increased risk or is it enough to live on a farm? Is pesticide exposure the reason for the increased risk? Well water exposure? Exposure to farm animals? Or is it another element of rural life? The studies were attempting to tease out why rural environments increased the risk of PD. Of course, all these categories are inter-related, since farmers live on farms in rural areas, are exposed to farm animals, are more likely than urban dwellers to drink well water and use pesticides. The studies are mixed in their conclusions, but overall the evidence supports associations between increased PD risk with each of the following: Subsequently, multiple additional studies looked at these questions. In the 1980s, studies were conducted that showed that early-age exposure to a rural environment as well as exposure to well water were associated with development of PD later in life. Living in a modern society means being exposed to a variety of chemicals whose risks we don’t completely understand. It is more than likely that additional chemicals in our environment, ones that haven’t yet been studied and which I will therefore not mention here, impact risk of PD too (by increasing or perhaps decreasing it).
#4399 com ddt full
A full understanding of someone’s PD risk needs to take into account all of the factors that both increase and decrease risk.


Those calls prompted me to delve further into this complicated and murky topic.īefore we start discussing specific factors in the environment that may increase risk of PD, let’s understand some basic ground rules that will help put this topic in perspective


The Relationship Between Pesticides and Parkinson’s A discussion of how environmental factors, such as pesticides, may affect your risk of Parkinson’s diseaseĭuring my recent interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, many of the callers asked questions related to environmental risks of Parkinson’s disease (PD), specifically, exposures related to farming.
