This case-control study assesses the association of exposure to air pollution with risk of Parkinson disease and clinical characteristics among individuals with PD.

Key Points

Question  Is air pollution in the form of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) associated with the risk and clinical characteristics of Parkinson disease (PD)?

Findings  This case-control study including 346 patients with PD matched with 4813 controls found that PM2.5 and NO2 exposure was associated with statistically significant increases in PD risk and risk of developing dyskinesia. Higher exposure to PM2.5 was associated with a statistically significant increase in risk of the akinetic rigid PD subtype in subcohort analysis among patients with PD.

Meaning  These findings suggest that a reduction in air pollution may help reduce PD risk, modifying the PD phenotype and the risk of dyskinesia in patients with PD.