Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil

Abstract Background Multiple studies have suggested that various pesticides are associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may influence the progression of the disease. However, the evidence regarding the impact of pesticide exposure on mortality among patients with PD...

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Main Authors: Márcio Schneider Medeiros, Sumanth P. Reddy, Mariana P. Socal, Artur Francisco Schumacher-Schuh, Carlos Roberto Mello Rieder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2020-06-01
Series:Environmental Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-020-00624-8
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author Márcio Schneider Medeiros
Sumanth P. Reddy
Mariana P. Socal
Artur Francisco Schumacher-Schuh
Carlos Roberto Mello Rieder
author_facet Márcio Schneider Medeiros
Sumanth P. Reddy
Mariana P. Socal
Artur Francisco Schumacher-Schuh
Carlos Roberto Mello Rieder
author_sort Márcio Schneider Medeiros
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Multiple studies have suggested that various pesticides are associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may influence the progression of the disease. However, the evidence regarding the impact of pesticide exposure on mortality among patients with PD is equivocal. This study examines whether pesticide exposure influences the risk of mortality among patients with PD in Southern Brazil. Methods A total of 150 patients with idiopathic PD were enrolled from 2008 to 2013 and followed until 2019. In addition to undergoing a detailed neurologic evaluation, patients completed surveys regarding socioeconomic status and environmental exposures. Results Twenty patients (13.3%) reported a history of occupational pesticide exposure with a median duration of exposure of 10 years (mean = 13.1, SD = 11.2). Patients with a history of occupational pesticide exposure had higher UPDRS-III scores, though there were no significant differences in regards to age, sex, disease duration, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and age at symptom onset. Patients with occupational pesticide exposure were more than twice as likely to die than their unexposed PD counterparts (HR = 2.32, 95% CI [1.15, 4.66], p = 0.018). Occupational pesticide exposure was also a significant predictor of death in a cox-proportional hazards model which included smoking and caffeine intake history (HR = 2.23, 95% CI [1.09, 4.59], p = 0.03)) and another which included several measures of socioeconomic status (HR = 3.91, 95% CI [1.32, 11.58], p = 0.01). Conclusion In this prospective cohort study, we found an increased all-cause mortality risk in PD patients with occupational exposure to pesticides. More studies are needed to further analyze this topic with longer follow-up periods, more detailed exposure information, and more specific causes of mortality.
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spelling doaj.art-cf7d4062124b4fed98580a63a2acfae32022-12-21T23:53:26ZengBMCEnvironmental Health1476-069X2020-06-011911810.1186/s12940-020-00624-8Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern BrazilMárcio Schneider Medeiros0Sumanth P. Reddy1Mariana P. Socal2Artur Francisco Schumacher-Schuh3Carlos Roberto Mello Rieder4Serviço de Neurologia, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulDepartment of Global Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthServiço de Neurologia, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulDepartamento de Neurologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto AlegreAbstract Background Multiple studies have suggested that various pesticides are associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may influence the progression of the disease. However, the evidence regarding the impact of pesticide exposure on mortality among patients with PD is equivocal. This study examines whether pesticide exposure influences the risk of mortality among patients with PD in Southern Brazil. Methods A total of 150 patients with idiopathic PD were enrolled from 2008 to 2013 and followed until 2019. In addition to undergoing a detailed neurologic evaluation, patients completed surveys regarding socioeconomic status and environmental exposures. Results Twenty patients (13.3%) reported a history of occupational pesticide exposure with a median duration of exposure of 10 years (mean = 13.1, SD = 11.2). Patients with a history of occupational pesticide exposure had higher UPDRS-III scores, though there were no significant differences in regards to age, sex, disease duration, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and age at symptom onset. Patients with occupational pesticide exposure were more than twice as likely to die than their unexposed PD counterparts (HR = 2.32, 95% CI [1.15, 4.66], p = 0.018). Occupational pesticide exposure was also a significant predictor of death in a cox-proportional hazards model which included smoking and caffeine intake history (HR = 2.23, 95% CI [1.09, 4.59], p = 0.03)) and another which included several measures of socioeconomic status (HR = 3.91, 95% CI [1.32, 11.58], p = 0.01). Conclusion In this prospective cohort study, we found an increased all-cause mortality risk in PD patients with occupational exposure to pesticides. More studies are needed to further analyze this topic with longer follow-up periods, more detailed exposure information, and more specific causes of mortality.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-020-00624-8PesticidesParkinsonMortalityOccupational exposureEnvironmental exposure
spellingShingle Márcio Schneider Medeiros
Sumanth P. Reddy
Mariana P. Socal
Artur Francisco Schumacher-Schuh
Carlos Roberto Mello Rieder
Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil
Environmental Health
Pesticides
Parkinson
Mortality
Occupational exposure
Environmental exposure
title Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil
title_full Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil
title_fullStr Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil
title_full_unstemmed Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil
title_short Occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with Parkinson’s disease: an observational study in southern Brazil
title_sort occupational pesticide exposure and the risk of death in patients with parkinson s disease an observational study in southern brazil
topic Pesticides
Parkinson
Mortality
Occupational exposure
Environmental exposure
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-020-00624-8
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