New Study Suggests Link Between Pesticides & Parkinson's

New Scientist is reporting on a newly released study affording new evidence of a link between pesticides and Parkinson's Disease. The study canvassed a population of 2756 subjects in five European countries, comprising 767 Parkinson's sufferers and 1989 healthy controls. Light pesticide users such as amateur gardeners were 9% likelier to develop the disease; high exposure users, like farmers, had a 43% higher risk. The study's authors acknowledge that they cannot say, from their data, just which pesticides may be responsible.

The same study also identified other, stronger risk factors. A family history of Parkinson's increases risk by 350%; getting knocked unconscious on one occasion, by 32%; getting knocked unconscious several times, by 174%.