PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF CIGARETTE-SMOKING AND THE RISK OF DEVELOPING IDIOPATHIC PARKINSONS-DISEASE

A 26-year follow-up study of 8,006 men enrolled in the Honolulu Heart Program examined the effect of cigarette smoking on the risk of develo ping idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Cases were identified through an ongoing search of hospital records and by the review of death certific ates and medical records of local neurologists. Men who had smoked cig arettes at any time prior to study enrollment in 1965 had a reduced ri sk of developing idiopathic Parkinson's disease (relative risk = 0.39) . Examination of smoking by pack-years revealed an apparent dose-respo nse effect on the risk of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, but not on t he age of onset. Coffee drinking was also associated with reduced risk , apparently because of its association with cigarette smoking. Althou gh the detrimental health effects of cigarette smoking would far outwe igh any possible protective effect for smoking and Parkinson's disease , the association of smoking with apparent protection may contribute t o understanding the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms.