Dry-Cleaning Chemicals and a Cluster of Parkinson's Disease and Cancer: A Retrospective Investigation

BackgroundEnvironmental exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), a carcinogenic dry-cleaning chemical, may be linked to Parkinson's disease (PD).ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine whether PD and cancer were elevated among attorneys who worked near a contaminated site.MethodsWe surveyed and evaluated attorneys with possible exposure and assessed a comparison group.ResultsSeventy-nine of 82 attorneys (96.3%; mean [SD] age: 69.5 [11.4] years; 89.9% men) completed at least one phase of the study. For comparison, 75 lawyers (64.9 [10.2] years; 65.3% men) underwent clinical evaluations. Four (5.1%) of them who worked near the polluted site reported PD, more than expected based on age and sex (1.7%; P = 0.01) but not significantly higher than the comparison group (n = 1 [1.3%]; P = 0.37). Fifteen (19.0%), compared to four in the comparison group (5.3%; P = 0.049), had a TCE-related cancer.ConclusionsIn a retrospective study, diagnoses of PD and TCE-related cancers appeared to be elevated among attorneys who worked next to a contaminated dry-cleaning site. (c) 2024 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. Trichloroethylene (TCE), a carcinogenic dry-cleaning and degreasing chemical, is associated with a 500% increased risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). TCE can evaporate from soil and pollute indoor air. Attorneys who worked near a TCE-contaminated site had higher rates of PD and TCE-related cancers than attorneys who didn't (24% vs. 7%, P = 0.02). image