Risk factors associated with Parkinson’s disease: An 11-year population-based South Korean study

ABSTRACT Objective To validate various known risk factors of Parkinsonism and to establish basic information to formulate public health policy by using a 10-year follow-up cohort model. Methods This population based nation-wide study was performed using the National Health Insurance Database of reimbursement claims of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service of South Korea data on regular health check-ups in 2003 and 2004, with 10 years’ follow-up. Results We identified 7,746 patients with Parkinsonism. Old age, hypertension, diabetes, depression, anxiety, taking statin medication, high body mass index, non-smoking, non-alcohol drinking, and low socioeconomic status were each associated with an increase in the risk of Parkinsonism (fully adjusted Cox proportional hazards model: hazard ratio (HR) 1.259, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.194–1.328 for hypertension, HR 1.255, 95% CI 1.186–1.329 for diabetes, HR 1.554, 95% CI 1.664–1.965 for depression, HR 1.808, 95% CI 1.462–1.652 for anxiety, and HR 1.157, 95% CI 1.072–1.250 for taking statin medication). Conclusions In our study, old age, depression, anxiety, and a non-smoker status were found to be risk factors of Parkinsonism, in agreement with previous studies. However, sex, hypertension, diabetes, taking statin medication, non-drinking of Alcohol, and lower socioeconomic status have not been described as risk factors in previous studies and need further verification in future studies.