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COPD increases risk of Parkinsons

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COPD increases risk of Parkinsons

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) seems to increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study from Taiwan.

Researchers matched 20,728 COPD patients (71.1 per cent male) aged, on average, 68.2 years with 41,147 controls. Overall, Parkinson’s disease was 57 per cent commoner in people with COPD than controls (6.21 and 3.97 per 1,000 person-years respectively). After adjusting for age and sex, and co-morbidities that emerged in the 13 years after enrolment, Parkinson’s disease was 37 per cent commoner in COPD patients.

The link between COPD and Parkinson’s disease was especially strong in patients with co-morbidities (41 per cent increase), women (47 per cent) and subjects under 65 years of age (59 per cent).

Inflammation contributes to both conditions, which might account for the increased risk of Parkinson’s disease in people with COPD. (Q J Med doi:10. 1093/qjmed/hcu136)

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