Area of Science:

• Environmental Epidemiology
• Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Neurological and neurodegenerative diseases have multifactorial causes, with pesticide exposure and related agricultural activities being potential risk factors.
• Understanding these links is crucial for public health initiatives and disease prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between agricultural activities, as a proxy for pesticide exposure, and mortality from neurological diseases in the Province of Pavia, Italy.
• To map the spatial distribution of neurological disease mortality and compare it with agricultural land use.

Main Methods:

• Utilized population data from 2012 for the Province of Pavia.
• Employed classical and Bayesian spatial analyses to create mortality risk maps for neurological diseases.
• Compared the spatial distribution of neurological disease mortality with agricultural activity data (viticulture, fruit/horticulture).

Main Results:

• Neurological disease mortality rates were 4.41/10,000 for men and 6.53/10,000 for women.
• A cluster of female neurological disease mortality was observed in the Oltrepò district, an area with high viticulture and fruit/horticulture activity.
• Bayesian relative risks for neurological diseases and Parkinson's disease in women in certain areas exceeded the provincial median, though not reaching statistical significance.

Conclusions:

• The study suggests a potential link between pesticide exposure from agricultural activities and neurological diseases, especially Parkinson's disease in women.
• Further research with individual-level data is recommended to confirm these findings and control for ecological study biases.
• Highlights the need for targeted public health strategies in areas with high agricultural activity and neurological disease prevalence.