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Is there seasonal variation in risk of Parkinson's disease?

Ronald B Postuma1, Christina Wolfson, Ali Rajput

  • 1Department of Neurology, McGill University, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ron.postuma@muhc.mcgill.ca

Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|May 9, 2007
PubMed

Insights

This study found no link between birth season and Parkinson's disease (PD) risk. Researchers also found no increased PD cases clustered around major influenza pandemic years.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Emerging research suggests a link between birth season and adult-onset neurological diseases.
  • Previous small studies indicated a potential increased risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) for individuals born in spring.
  • Some research hinted at possible clusters of PD diagnoses among those born during influenza pandemic years.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate potential seasonal variations in birth dates for Parkinson's disease patients.
  • To determine if birth dates of PD patients cluster during years of major influenza pandemics.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of birth dates from 8,168 Parkinson's disease patients across Canadian movement disorder clinics.
  • Comparison of PD patient birth date seasonality with the general Canadian population.
  • Examination of PD patient birth counts during influenza pandemic years versus surrounding years.

Main Results:

  • No statistically significant seasonal variation in Parkinson's disease incidence based on birth date was detected.
  • No evidence of birth date clustering in Parkinson's disease patients during major influenza pandemic years was found.

Conclusions:

  • The study did not find evidence supporting a seasonal influence on Parkinson's disease development.
  • Current findings do not support a link between birth timing, influenza pandemics, and Parkinson's disease risk.

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