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A prospective study of alcoholism and the risk of Parkinson’s disease

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Abstract.

The lower incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) among smokers may be explained by a protective effect of cigarette smoke, or by a tendency to avoid addictive behaviors among future PD cases. We conducted an indirect test of the latter hypothesis by comparing the incidence of PD between alcoholics and nonalcoholics in the General Practice Research Database of the United Kingdom. Our case-control study included 1,019 cases and 10,123 matched controls. Overall, we did not find a lower incidence of PD among alcoholics compared with nonalcoholics (odds ratio: 1.09; 95 % CI: 0.67, 1.78).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Miguel A. Hernán MD

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston (MA), USA

    Giancarlo Logroscino MD

  3. Centro Español de Investigación, Farmacoepidemiológica, Madrid, Spain

    Luis A. García Rodríguez MD

Authors
  1. Miguel A. Hernán MD
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  2. Giancarlo Logroscino MD
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  3. Luis A. García Rodríguez MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miguel A. Hernán MD.

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Hernán, M.A., Logroscino, G. & García Rodríguez, L.A. A prospective study of alcoholism and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. J Neurol 251 (Suppl 7), vii14–vii17 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-004-1705-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-004-1705-4

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