A CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK-FACTORS FOR PARKINSONS-DISEASE IN THE EMILIA-ROMAGNA REGION OF ITALY

A questionnaire-based case-control study was carried out on 86 patient s with neurologist-confirmed idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and 8 6 controls similar in sex and age. The control group was recruited in outpatient specialist centers of the same University Hospital (glaucom a, psoriasis vulgaris, essential arterial hypertension and renal disea ses). Exposure was defined as occupational or residential contact with a given factor for at least IO consecutive years prior to the onset o f PD. Smoking habits were defined by exclusion of those subjects who n ever smoked. The following risk factors were identified: cranial traum a (OR: 2.88; 95% CI: 0.98-8.49), well water use (OR: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.4 6-5.28) and occupational exposure to industrial chemicals (OR: 2.13; 9 5% CI: 1.16-3.91). Among industrial chemicals, only organic solvents w ere identified as significant risk factors for PD (O.R. :2.78, 95% C.I . : 7.23-6.26). Whereas no exposure to neurotoxic metals occurred amon g controls, making the assessment of the O.R. impossible, exposure pes ticides and herbicides was similar in the two groups (O.R. : 1.15; 95% C.I. :0.56-2-36). Smoking habits was negatively associated with PD (O R: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.22-0.75), confirming the ''protective'' role of tob acco smoking suggested by many studies. As a whole, these results supp ort the role of environmental factors in the etiology of PD. (C) 1998 Inter Press, Inc.