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A new study links living near golf courses with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. Not everyone is buying it though.
The researchers believe that the rampant use of pesticides on fairways and greens, and the subsequent exposure to these toxic chemicals, are to blame for a higher incidence of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in golf course residents.
According to the study led by Brittany Krzyzanowski of the Barrow Neurological Institute, the results of which were published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the greatest risk of PD is within one to three miles of a golf course, “and that this risk generally decreased with distance.”
The reason for that, they believe, is because pesticides applied to golf courses can leach into the groundwater and are carried through the air to residential properties when it is applied.
The study, which compared 419 Parkinson’s cases with 5,113 healthy individuals, covered 139 golf courses. What they found was that there was a 126% increase in risk of Parkinson’s Disease for those living within one mile of a golf course when compared to people who lived six or more miles away. They also found that residents who shared water services with a golf course had almost double the odds of developing Parkinson’s Disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Parkinson’s Disease “is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time.” There is no known cure for PD, though surgery and medicines can sometimes help reduce the symptoms. There also is no known cause of PD, but specific genetic changes and exposure to certain toxins or other environmental factors have been linked to it.
“Public health policies to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination and airborne exposure from pesticides on golf courses may help reduce risk of Parkinson’s disease in nearby neighborhoods,” the researchers wrote.
Not everyone agrees with the results of the study conducted by Krzyzanowski and her colleagues at the Mayo Clinic, the University of Rochester, and the University of Kansas. Katherine Fletcher, lead researcher at Parkinson’s UK, is one of them.
“Many studies have investigated whether pesticides increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s in different populations around the world,” said Fletcher. “The results have been varied, but overall suggest that exposure to pesticides may increase the risk of the condition. However, the evidence is not strong enough to show that pesticide exposure directly causes Parkinson’s.”
Content shared from brobible.com.