Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Lipids and cardiovascular/metabolic health

Cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of Parkinson’s disease

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 69, pages 729–733 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The objective of this study was to investigate whether serum triglycerides (S-TG), cholesterol, blood pressure and waist/height ratio are risk factors for Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Subjects and Methods:

A population-based sample within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS) was used in this study (n=101 790 subjects). Cases with PD were identified prospectively in a community-based study of idiopathic Parkinsonism in the period 2004–2009 in the county of Västerbotten in northern Sweden. The case database obtained was crosslinked to the NSHDS. Eighty-four of 147 patients with PD had visited the primary health care 2–8 years before diagnosis for participation in the NSHDS. For each case, four referents from the NSHDS population were selected, matched for sex, age, year of health survey, subcohort and geographic area.

Results:

Cases had lower mean S-TG levels (P=0.007). After stratification for sex, the lower S-TG remained significant for men (P=0.006) but not for women (P=0.450), and these were confirmed by the conditional logistic regression for all cases, none adjusted (hazard ratio (HR): 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.42, 0.99) and after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (HR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.96). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was negatively associated with PD risk after adjustments for age, BMI and physical activity (HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97–0.99). Smoking and former smoking were associated with a reduced risk for PD.

Conclusions:

We found lower S-TG and SBP 2–8 years before a diagnosis of PD. Smoking was confirmed to be negatively associated with PD, whereas recreational activity indicates a risk for women.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gorelick PB, Scuteri A, Black SE, Decarli C, Greenberg SM, Iadecola C et al. Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia: a statement for health care professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 2011; 42: 2672–2713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kaffashian S, Dugravor A, Elbaz A, Shipley MJ, Sabia S, Kivimäki M et al. Predicting cognitive decline: a dementia risk score vs the Framingham vascular risk scores. Neurology 2013; 80: 1300–1306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Aarsland D, Kvaløy JT, Andersen K, Larsen JP, Tang MX, Lolk A et al. The effect of age of onset of PD on risk of dementia. J Neurol 2007; 254: 38–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Linder J, Stenlund H, Forsgren L . Incidence of Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism in northern Sweden: a population-based study. Mov Disord 2010; 25: 341–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ritz B, Ascherio A, Checkoway H, Marder KS, Nelson LM, Rocca WA et al. Pooled analysis of tobacco use and risk of Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol 2007; 64: 990–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hu G, Jousilahti P, Nissinen A, Antikainen R, Kivipelto M, Tuomilehto J . Body mass index and the risk of Parkinson disease. Neurology 2006; 67: 1955–1959.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hu G, Antikainen R, Jousilahti P, Kivipelto M, Tuomilehto J . Total cholesterol and the risk of Parkinson disease. Neurology 2008; 70: 1972–1979.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Qiu C, Hu G, Kivipelto M, Marder KS, Nelson LM, Rocca WA et al. Association of blood pressure and hypertension with the risk of Parkinson disease: the National FINRISK Study. Hypertension 2011; 57: 1094–1100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. De Lau LM, Koudstaal PJ, Hofman A, Breteler MB . Serum cholesterol levels and the risk of Parkinsons disease. Am J Epidemiol 2006; 164: 998–1002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Powers KM, Smith-Weller T, Franklin GM, Longstreth WT Jr, Swanson PD, Checkoway H . Dietary fats, cholesterol and iron as risk factors for Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2009; 15: 47–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Scigliano G, Musicco M, Soliveri P, Piccolo I, Ronchetti G, Girotti F . Reduced risk factors for vascular disorders in Parkinson disease patients: a case–control study. Stroke 2006; 37: 1184–1188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Savica R, Grossardt BR, Ahlskog JE, Rocca WA . Metabolic markers or conditions preceding Parkinson's disease: a case–control study. Mov Disord 2012; 27: 974–979.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hilker R, Schweitzer K, Coburger S, Ghaemi M, Weisenbach S, Jacobs AH et al. Nonlinear progression of Parkinson Disease as determined by serial positron emission tomographic imaging of striatal fluorodopa F 18 activity. Arch Neurol 2005; 62: 378–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Gibb WR, Lees AJ . The relevance of the Lewy body to the pathogenesis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1988; 51: 745–752.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hallmans G, Agren A, Johansson G, Johansson A, Stegmayr B, Jansson JH et al. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study Cohort—evaluation of risk factors and their interactions. Scand J Public Health Suppl 2003; 61: 18–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Norberg M, Blomstedt Y, Lönnberg G, Nyström L, Stenlund H, Wall S et al. Community participation and sustainability—evidence over 25 years in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme. Glob Health Action 2012; 5: 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Morrish PK, Rakshi JS, Bailey DL, Sawle GV, Brooks DJ . Measuring the rate of progression and estimating the preclinical period of Parkinson's disease with [18F]dopaPET. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1998; 64: 314–319.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Simon KC, Chen H, Schwarzschild M, Ascherio A . Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and risk of Parkinson disease. Neurology 2007; 69: 1688–1695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Abbott RD, Ross GW, White LR, Nelson JS, Masaki KH, Tanner CM et al. Midlife adiposity and the future risk of Parkinson's disease. Neurology 2002; 59: 1051–1057.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Ragonese P, D'Amelio M, Callari G, Di Benedetto N, Palmeri B, Mazzola MA et al. Body mass index does not change before Parkinson's disease onset. Eur J Neurol 2008; 15: 965–968.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Hernán MA, Zhang SM, Rueda-deCastro AM, Colditz GA, Speizer FE, Ascherio A . Cigarette smoking and the incidence of Parkinson's disease in two prospective studies. Ann Neurol 2001; 50: 780–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Håglin LM, Törnkvist B, Bäckman LO . High serum phosphate and triglyceride levels in smoking women and men with CVD risk and type 2 diabetes. Diabetol Metab Syndr 2014; 6: 39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Vlajinac H, Sipetic S, Marinkovic J, Ratkov I, Maksimovic J, Dzoljic E et al. The stressful life events and Parkinson's disease: a case–control study. Stress Health 2013; 29: 50–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Sasco AJ, Paffenbarger RS Jr, Gendre I, Wing AL . The role of physical exercise in the occurrence of Parkinson's disease. Arch Neurol 1992; 49: 360–365.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Chen H, Zhang SM, Schwarzschild MA, Hernán MA, Ascherio A . Physical activity and the risk of Parkinsons disease. Neurology 2005; 64: 664–669.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Thacker EL, Chen H, Patel AV, McCullough ML, Calle EE, Thun MJ et al. Recreational physical activity and risk of Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord 2008; 23: 69–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Tsekouras YE, Magkos F, Kellas Y, Basioukas KN, Kavouras SA, Sidossis LS . High-intensity interval aerobic training reduces hepatic very low-density lipoprotein-triglyceride secretion rate in men. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2008; 295: E851–E858.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from The Swedish Parkinson Foundation (Svenska Parkinsonstiftelsen), Swedish Parkinson Foundation, Neuro Sweden and Västerbotten County Council (ALF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    M Vikdahl, L Bäckman & L Håglin

  2. Department of Odontology/Cariology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    I Johansson

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    L Forsgren

Authors
  1. M Vikdahl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L Bäckman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. I Johansson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L Forsgren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. L Håglin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L Håglin.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vikdahl, M., Bäckman, L., Johansson, I. et al. Cardiovascular risk factors and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Eur J Clin Nutr 69, 729–733 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.259

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.259

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links