Your risk of Parkinson's is higher

NEW YORK (HealthDay News)—People with metabolic syndrome have up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests.

Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of health problems that include excess abdominal fat, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, and abnormal cholesterol levels.

It's been proven to increase a person's risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. And now, researchers have found an association between metabolic syndrome and Parkinson's, a degenerative nerve disease that primarily affects motor skills, according to findings published in the August 20 issue of the journal Neurology.

“Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder among older adults after Alzheimer’s disease, and metabolic syndrome affects approximately one in four adults and is highly modifiable,” said researcher Weili Xu, professor of geriatric epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, in a press release.

“Our findings suggest that metabolic syndrome may be a modifiable risk factor for Parkinson’s disease,” Xu said.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 467,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale UK health research project. Nearly two in five people (38%) had metabolic syndrome.

Participants were followed for a median of 15 years, during which time more than 3,200 developed Parkinson's disease. Median means that half were followed for a longer period, the other half for a shorter period.

People with metabolic syndrome were about 40% more likely to develop Parkinson's than those without the syndrome, the results show.

The researchers also combined their research with data collected in eight previous studies, creating a group of nearly 25 million people with more than 98,500 cases of Parkinson's.

In that meta-analysis, the team found a 29% increased risk of Parkinson's among people with metabolic syndrome.

“We found a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease for people with metabolic syndrome and a genetic susceptibility to it,” Xu said. “This suggests that maintaining metabolic health is especially important for people who have genes that increase their risk of Parkinson’s.”

Parkinson's occurs when the body's ability to produce the neurochemical dopamine is damaged or destroyed. The lack of dopamine causes the movement problems associated with the disease.

Researchers said health problems associated with metabolic syndrome could affect the body's production of dopamine. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can also damage small blood vessels in the brain, contributing to Parkinson's.

The researchers noted that their findings could not prove a direct causal link between metabolic syndrome and Parkinson's, only an association.

“Future studies are needed to see if working to control metabolic syndrome could help prevent Parkinson’s disease,” Xu concluded.

At a glance

Patient follow-up

Researchers analyzed data from more than 467,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale health research project in the United Kingdom. Nearly two in five people (38%) had metabolic syndrome. Participants were followed for 15 years, during which more than 3,200 developed Parkinson's disease.