Linking Diabetes and Parkinson Disease

More evidence supports an association, but the mechanism and potential treatments remain unclear.

Recently there has been great interest in the possible association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Parkinson disease (PD). Investigators examined retrospective information from hospitalized T2DM patients, drawn from British National Hospital Episode Statistics and mortality data collected over a 12-year period. The investigators excluded strokes, stroke-induced parkinsonism, and normal pressure hydrocephalus.

The investigators identified 2,017,115 patients with T2DM and 6,173,208 without T2DM (controls). The rates of PD were significantly higher in those with T2DM (hazard ratio, 1.32). The increase was even greater in those with complicated T2DM (HR, 1.49) and in patients aged 25 to 44 years (HR, 3.81).

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)