A recent study published on December 15, 2022, indicates that the incidence rate of Parkinson’s disease in North America is nearly 50 percent higher than the currently estimated rate.1 This finding comes on the heels of a 2018 study that concluded that between 1990 to 2015, the number of people living with Parkinson’s nearly doubled.2
The alarming rise in Parkinson’s disease diagnoses cannot be fully explained by our increased awareness of the disease nor our lengthening life spans. While the way in which Parkinson’s disease develops is not yet fully understood, it has been linked to exposures to certain chemicals. Researchers have suggested that exposures to these chemicals may be the reason for the dramatic increase in the incidence of Parkinson’s disease.
Pesticides, such as paraquat, are among the chemicals having the strongest association with Parkinson’s disease. In addition to pesticides, exposure to chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE) has also been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease tends to only develop later in life. The toxic exposures that caused the illness may have occurred many decades prior to the first symptoms. At the time of writing, many of the chemicals most strongly associated with Parkinson’s disease are still in use. Sadly, the full extent of the damage that these chemicals have inflicted upon American workers may only just be starting to appear.
References
[1] Incidence of Parkinson disease in North America
