Adults who are constipated or suffer from irritable bowel syndrome are more likely to be later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
- Gastroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and constipation were associated with the occurrence of Parkinson’s disease.
- Patients affected by irritable bowel syndrome had a 17% increased risk of developing this neurodegenerative pathology five years later.
- Removal of the appendix seemed to have a protective effect against the condition.
167,000. This is the number of people affected by Parkinson’s disease in France. Recently, researchers from the Mayo Clinic Arizona (United States) revealed that certain intestinal problems could herald the appearance of this neurodegenerative pathology. To reach this conclusion, they carried out a study, the results of which were published in the journal Gut.
As part of the work, scientists used information from a national American network of medical records. Specifically, they compared data from 24,624 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease of unknown cause with those from adults with other neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or who had received neither diagnosis.
Four bowel disorders linked to higher risk of Parkinson’s disease
After a five-year follow-up, the team observed a clear link between several gastrointestinal disorders and an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Indeed, gastroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and constipation were all associated with a twice as high risk of suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Irritable bowel syndrome was also linked to a 17% higher risk.
Other bowel problems, such as functional dyspepsia (burning or fullness in the stomach with no obvious cause) and diarrhea with fecal incontinence, were also more common in patients who developed Parkinson’s disease. Surprisingly, removing the appendix appeared to have a protective effect, reducing the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Constipation, dysphagia, gastroparesis: people affected must remain vigilant
“This study is the first to establish observational evidence that clinical diagnosis of not only constipation, but also dysphagia, gastroparesis and irritable bowel syndrome could specifically predict the development of Parkinson’s disease. These results support vigilance for gastrointestinal symptoms in patients at high risk of Parkinson’s disease and highlight the need for further investigation of intestinal disorders in Alzheimer’s disease and cerebrovascular diseases”, concluded the authors in a statement.
