RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Occupational exposure to pesticides and endotoxin and Parkinson disease in the Netherlands
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 757
OP 764
DO 10.1136/oemed-2014-102170
VO 71
IS 11
A1 van der Mark, Marianne
A1 Vermeulen, Roel
A1 Nijssen, Peter C G
A1 Mulleners, Wim M
A1 Sas, Antonetta M G
A1 van Laar, Teus
A1 Brouwer, Maartje
A1 Huss, Anke
A1 Kromhout, Hans
YR 2014
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/71/11/757.abstract
AB Objectives Previous research has indicated that occupational exposure to pesticides and possibly airborne endotoxin may increase the risk of developing Parkinson disease (PD). We studied the associations of PD with occupational exposure to pesticides, specifically to the functional subclasses insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, and to airborne endotoxin. In addition we evaluated specific pesticides (active ingredients) previously associated with PD. Methods We used data from a hospital-based case–control study, including 444 patients with PD and 876 age and sex matched controls. Exposures to pesticides from application and re-entry work were estimated with the ALOHA+job-exposure matrix and with an exposure algorithm based on self-reported information on pesticide use. To assess exposure to specific active ingredients a crop-exposure matrix was developed. Endotoxin exposure was estimated with the DOM job-exposure matrix. Results The results showed almost no significant associations. However, ORs were elevated in the higher exposure categories for pesticides in general, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, and below unity for endotoxin exposure. The analyses on specific active ingredients showed a significant association of PD risk with the fungicide benomyl. Conclusions This study did not provide evidence for a relation between pesticide exposure and PD. However, the consistently elevated ORs in the higher exposure categories suggest that a positive association may exist. The possible association with the active ingredient benomyl requires follow-up in other studies. This study did not provide support for a possible association between endotoxin exposure and PD.