Abstract
Objectives: To investigate potential risk factors for Parkinson’s disease (PD) in elderly individuals rural living in Turkey.
Methods: In total, 72 consecutive elderly Parkinson disease patients referred to the Neurology Clinic, Iğdir State Hospital, Iğdır, Turkey were included in the study. A structured questionnaire comprising questions on history of pastoral living, pit water consumption, and exposure to ionizing radiation and pesticides was administered to the patients. The patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of water consumption: well water consumption group and city network consumption group.
Results: Of 72 patients with PD, 49 (68.1%) exposed to well water while 23 (31.9%) did not exposed to well water. The average duration of well water consumption was 20 (standard deviation 6) years (p<0.01) in group 1. Nitrate, sulfate and heavy metal levels were significantly higher in well water than in city network water (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Consumption of well water containing heavy metals and nitrates in early life may contribute to the etiology of Parkinson disease in elderly individuals in Iğdır province of Turkey
Footnotes
Disclosure. Authors have no conflict of interests, and the work was not supported or funded by any drug company.
- Received October 24, 2019.
- Accepted December 22, 2019.
- Copyright: © Neurosciences
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