Does Lowering Cholesterol Reduce Parkinson Disease Risk?

An analysis of two large prospective cohorts suggests it might, but cautious interpretation is warranted.

To examine whether cholesterol-lowering drug use affects risk for incident Parkinson disease (PD), researchers prospectively studied 38,192 men from the Health Professional Follow-up Study and 90,874 women from the Nurses' Health Study.

Over a 12-year period, the researchers identified 644 incident PD cases. The risk for incident PD was significantly lower in those who used cholesterol-lowering agents than in those who didn't, after adjustment for numerous confounders (adjusted pooled relative risk, 0.74). This association held in participants who were younger than 60, but not those who were 60 or older.

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)