Good news for coffee lovers: drinking it regularly reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 40%.
- 27,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease are diagnosed every year in France.
- Parkinson’s disease cannot be cured.
- Drinking a lot of coffee reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study.
Coffee may have protective effects against Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology.
Parkinson’s Research: 93% of Participants Reported Drinking Coffee
To reach this conclusion, the authors of the research analyzed health data collected as part of a study called EPIC. The cohort included 184,024 people from Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Italy. Their progress was followed for 13 years.
During the research, 308 men and 285 women developed Parkinson’s disease (less than 1% of the cohort).
93% of participants also said they drank coffee. This consumption was highest in the Netherlands (around 500 milliliters per day) and lowest in Italy or Spain (around 100 milliliters per day).
People who drank a lot of coffee were most often men, smokers, young people and heavy alcohol drinkers.
Parkinson’s disease and coffee consumption: the limitation of the study
Specifically, the 25% of participants who consumed the most coffee had nearly a 40% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to members of the cohort who did not drink coffee at all.
The association between Parkinson’s disease and coffee consumption was about as strong in men as in women, but appeared slightly stronger in people who had never smoked.
“This study demonstrated an association between caffeine consumption and the risk of Parkinson’s disease using one of the largest cohorts in world”, conclude the authors of the investigation.
The only limitation to their work: coffee consumption was evaluated only on the basis of participants’ declarations, which may leave room for statistical bias.
Parkinson disease : 27,000 new cases every year in France
27,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease are diagnosed every year in France, or 1 every 20 minutes.
Parkinson’s disease cannot be cured. Treatments exist but only act on the main motor symptoms. “It is necessary to adapt and increase the dosages which are less effective on motor symptoms as the disease progresses”, specifies theFrance Parkinson Association.
“Parkinson’s disease is the second leading cause of motor disability in adults after stroke, and the second leading neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease.” said Amandine Lagarde, general director of the France Parkinson association, at a press conference. “In total, 60 symptoms are referenced for this pathology”, she said.
