Exposure to toxic occupations and their association with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Earlier longitudinal reviews on environmental and occupational toxins and Parkinson's disease (PD) risk have limitations. This study aimed to determine the strength of association between three types of toxic occupational exposures and the occurrence of PD by diagnostic methods.

A search was conducted of EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, Toxnet, LILACS, and Cochrane Library databases for longitudinal studies that assessed toxic occupational exposure, Parkinsonian, or related disorders, diagnosed by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, medical records, or confirmation by a neurologist/nurse, and published in the English language from January 1990 to July 2021. Pooled risk ratios (RR) estimates were produced using random-effects models. Systematic review with meta-analysis synthesized the results. Study quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias were examined. High-quality articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed.

Twenty-four articles were used in the analyses. The pooled RR for electromagnetic exposure and PD were (RR=1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.91-1.16) while the pooled RR between PD and metal and pesticide exposure were (RR=1.07, 95% CI 0.92-1.24) and (RR=1.41, 95% CI 1.20-1.65), respectively. Pooled RR for methods of diagnosis and their associations with PD were: confirmation by a neurologist or nurse (RR=2.17, 95% CI 1.32-3.54); ICD codes (RR=1.14, 95% CI 1.03-1.26), and medical records (RR=1.06, 95% CI 0.92-1.21).

Our systematic review provides robust evidence that toxic occupational exposures are significant risk factors for PD especially those diagnosed by neurologists or nurses using standardized methods.