Researchers from the University of Aberdeen have warned that exposure to pesticides may cause Parkinson’s disease. In a large study involving almost 3,000 people from five European countries the researchers questioned 787 people with the disease and 1989 healthy volunteers. People with Parkinson’s were more likely to have used pesticides regularly. Users with low exposure, such as amateur gardeners, had a 9% increased risk of developing the disease than non-users, while users with high exposure, such as farmers, were 43% more likely.
Other factors which significantly increase the risk of Parkinson’s are a family history of the disease and having been knocked unconscious; the risk increases with the number of times a person has been knocked out.
When queried about the link with pesticides, Professor Coggon who chairs the UK government’s Advisory Committee on Pesticides admitted that ‘It is possible that just one or two are causing it, but slipped through the regulatory net’.
The original research is soon to be submitted for publication.
Andy Cochlan, New Scientist 26 May 2005
[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 68, June 2005, page 7]