Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease whose development is believed to be related to a combination of environmental and genetic factors. As air pollution is a potentially modifiable environmental factor affecting the entire populations, its reduction is exceedingly important for public health.
In the current study, we estimated the contribution of environmental factors to the onset of PD. To achieve this objective we performed a cohort study, followed by a nested case-control analysis. Specifically, in a population-based study, we analyzed the PD patients residing in the Negev and treated by Soroka Medical Center during 2001-2020.
Exposure to environmental factors was be assigned based on the subjects' residence addresses and focused on (1) ambient air pollution; (2) meteorological conditions; (3) proximity to greenspaces and (4) agriculture-related activity.