A study on risk factors for Parkinson's disease in Indian population

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. The exact cause of selective dopaminergic neurodegeneration is unknown, but it is supposed that etiology of Parkinson's disease is multifactorial and consists of an interaction between environmental factors and genetic predisposition. To find out the association between environmental factors and risk of Parkinson's disease, a case control study was designed including 97 Parkinson's disease patients and 97 controls. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for Parkinson's disease. Results from the present study showed that gender, religion, education, place of living, occupation, dietary habits, tobacco chewing, smoking, alcohol intake, and head injury had no association with PD. However, chemical exposure and well water drinking were significantly associated with PD, which concluded that environmental factors could act as a risk factor for PD in some way.