Parkinson’s disease increases coronary artery disease risk in elderly Korean patients: a population- based study

This study aimed to investigate the association between Parkinson's disease (PD) and coronary artery disease (CAD) risk in elderly patients. Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort database (2002–2015), PD patients were matched with controls based on age, sex, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus (DM) in a 1:10 ratio. Incidence rates of CAD were observed, and a stratified Cox proportional-hazards regression model was utilized. The analysis included 101,838 participants (9,258 PD patients and 92,580 matched controls). The PD group showed an incidence rate of 66 per 1000 person-years, while the matched control group had 47 per 1000 person-years. After adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, and DM, the PD group exhibited an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.39 (95% confidence interval 1.34–1.45) for CAD compared to the matched controls. Subgroup analyses, stratified by age group, sex, and comorbidities, consistently revealed a significantly higher risk of CAD among PD patients than in the matched control groups. These findings suggest that PD increases the risk of CAD in Koreans, independent of age, sex, or the presence of other health conditions. making PD a potential independent risk factor for CAD.