In Taiwan, diabetes linked to increased Parkinson's risk

(HealthDay) -- Individuals with diabetes in Taiwan have a significantly increased risk of Parkinson's disease (PD), which is robust across most age and gender stratifications, according to a study published online March 19 in Diabetes Care.

Yu Sun, M.D., Ph.D., of En Chu Kong Hospital in New Taipei City, Taiwan, and colleagues evaluated the age- and sex-specific incidence of PD in a cohort of 603,416 individuals with diabetes and 472,188 controls without diabetes.

The researchers found that the incidence of PD was 3.59 per 10,000 person-years for the diabetes group and 2.15 per 10,000 person-years in the control group, representing an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.61. The association was reduced substantially following adjustment for medical visits (HR, 1.37). Across all sex and age stratifications, diabetes was associated with a significantly elevated risk of PD, except for young women. The highest hazard ratio was seen for young men aged 21 to 40 years (HR, 2.10), followed by women aged 41 to 60 years (HR, 2.05) and women older than 60 years (HR, 1.65).

"Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of PD onset in a Chinese population, and the relation is stronger in women and younger patients," the authors write.