A study from the Mayo Clinic in the United States shows that the incidence of Parkinson’s disease increased considerably in 30 years, between 1976 and 2005. For this study, published in Jama Neurologythe researchers were able to review the medical records of all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota who had been diagnosed with parkinsonian syndrome (a syndrome that combines the main symptoms present in Parkinson’s disease) or Parkinson’s disease (a neurodegenerative disease due to the progressive destruction of certain neurons).
In total, a thousand people were followed.
A risk that increases every 10 years
The researchers thus showed that, every 10 years, the risk of suffering from Parkinsonian syndrome increased by 17% (and by 24% for Parkinson’s disease itself). They also found that this risk was even greater in men over 70. In septuagenarians, it would increase by 24% and 35% respectively, every 10 years.
“We have reason to believe that this is a real trend” said Prof. Rodolfo Savica, lead author of the study and a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic. “The increase in the incidence of the disease is not only due to the increased vigilance of doctors. But exposure to certain environmental factors like pesticidestobacco or lifestyle, for example coffee consumption, certainly have to do with the increase in disease”.
The fact that the increased incidence of the disease is more evident in men than in women also tips the balance in favor of environmental factors. Because if it were only due to the vigilance of doctors, the statistics would be identical in women and men.
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