Lifetime occupational and leisure time physical activity and risk of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Introduction While regular exercise has been shown to alleviate the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), it remains unclear whether a physically active lifestyle may prevent PD. Methods To examine physical activities across the lifespan and risk of PD, we relied on data from a population-based case-control study that enrolled 357 incident PD cases and 341 controls. We assessed physical activity levels via self-report of (1) overall physical activity (PA) over 4 age periods; (2) competitive sports; and (3) occupational histories. Results PD risks were lower comparing the overall PA highest quartile (moderate to vigorous activities ≥180 metabolic equivalent task-hours/week (MET-h/wk)) with the lowest quartile (<47.8 MET-h/wk) in age-period 18–24 years (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40–1.02), and 45–64 years (OR 0.50, 95%CI 0.31–0.83) but not in age-period 25–44. Individuals who consistently engaged in overall PA at high levels (before age 65 years) had a 51% lower PD risk than those with low levels. Also, having participated in competitive sports prior to age 25 was inversely associated with PD (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.31–0.91 for high level versus never). There was no association for measures of occupational physical activity though. Conclusion The long prodromal stage of PD makes it difficult to conclude whether insidious disease leads to a reduction of physical activity years before motor symptom onset and PD diagnosis. However, sports activities and high levels of overall PA in youth appear protective unless they are markers for biologic or genetic factors that lower PD risk.

Prevalence and trends of leisure-time physical activity by occupation and industry in U.S. workers: the National Health Interview Survey 2004–2014

“…A Canadian report was released stating that white-collar workers were more motivated to participate in sports or physical recreation for health reasons, enjoyment, and so forth, and that blue-collar workers were satisfied with their present exercise levels and had less awareness of the health benefits of physical activity [32]. LTPA has been shown to be associated with better health [7–12,15,29–31]. The demographic groups that are more likely to experience poorer health tend to be those used in blue-collar jobs [24–27].…”

“…One study showed that although overall and leisure-time physical activity were associated with Parkinson’s disease, occupational physical activity was not [7]. A few European studies found that moderate and high LTPA reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, whereas occupational physical activity had opposite results [8–10].…”

The best medicine? The influence of physical activity and inactivity on Parkinson's disease

“…A beneficial relationship between physical activity and PD was first suggested in 1992, when Sasco and colleagues reported that the future risk of PD was reduced in men who played sports in college and adult life and that PD risk was increasingly lower as activity levels increased . This finding has been replicated in nearly all subsequent epidemiologic studies (Table ). For example, among the more than 200,000 participants in the NIH‐AARP Diet and Health Study cohort, those who participated in consistent and frequent moderate to vigorous activities had a 40% lower risk of developing PD compared with sedentary participants.…”

Epidemiology of Parkinson's Disease—East Versus West

“…1 case‐control study performed in the USA showed that physical activity was associated with reduced risk for PD: OR 0.50 to 0.64 depending on the age in which the person engaged in physical activity …”