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Body mass index and the risk of Parkinson disease

From the Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion (G.H., P.J., A.N., J.T.), National Public Health Institute, Helsinki; Department of Public Health (G.H., J.T.), University of Helsinki, Helsinki; Tampere School of Public Health (P.J.), University of Tampere, Tampere; Oulu City Hospital (R.A.), Oulu; Department of Neuroscience and Neurology (A.N., M.K.), University of Kuopio, Kuopio; and South Ostrobothnia Central Hospital (J.T.), Seinäjoki, Finland.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Gang Hu, MD, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 166, FIN-00300 Helsinki, Finland; e-mail: hu.gang{at}ktl.fi.

Objective: To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and the risk of Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods: Study cohorts included 22,367 Finnish men and 23,439 women 25 to 59 years of age without a history of PD at baseline. Hazards ratios (HRs) of incident PD were estimated for different levels of BMI.

Results: During a mean follow-up period of 18.8 years, 272 men and 254 women developed incident PD. After adjustment for confounding factors (age, study years, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, education, leisure-time physical activity, smoking, and alcohol, coffee, and tea consumption), the HRs of PD at different levels of BMI (<23, 23 to 24.9, 25 to 26.9, 27 to 29.9, and 30 kg/m²) were 1.00, 1.97 (95% CI: 1.21 to 3.22), 1.83 (95% CI: 1.12 to 2.99), 2.34 (95% CI: 1.45 to 3.78), and 2.44 (95% CI: 1.44 to 4.15) in men, and 1.00, 1.50 (95% CI: 0.95 to 2.37), 1.65 (95% CI: 1.05 to 2.59), 1.79 (95% CI: 1.15 to 2.80), and 1.77 (95% CI: 1.12 to 2.78) in women, and 1.00, 1.70 (95% CI: 1.23 to 2.37), 1.70 (95% CI: 1.23 to 2.37), 2.02 (95% CI: 1.46 to 2.79), and 2.03 (95% CI: 1.44 to 2.85) in men and women combined (adjusted also for sex). In both sexes combined, the multivariate-adjusted direct association between BMI and the risk of PD was present both in subjects aged 25 to 49 years and 50 to 59 years, in never smokers and smokers and in participants diagnosed PD before and after 65 years of age.

Conclusion: Body mass index is associated with a risk of Parkinson disease. The effect is graded and independent of other risk factors.

Supported by grants from the Finnish Academy (grants 46558, 204274, 205657), The Finnish Parkinson Foundation, and Special Research Funds of the Social Welfare and Health Board, City of Oulu.

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Received Mach 28, 2006. Accepted in final form August 23, 2006.

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