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Comparative Study
. 2008 Apr 15;70(16 Pt 2):1418-22.
doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000286942.14552.51. Epub 2008 Jan 9.

Statin use and the risk of Parkinson disease

Angelika D Wahner  1 , Jeff M Bronstein, Yvette M Bordelon, Beate Ritz
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Statin use and the risk of Parkinson disease

Angelika D Wahner et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

Objective: To investigate associations between statin (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor) use and Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods: We used a population-based design to recruit 312 incident idiopathic PD cases and 342 controls from three rural California counties.

Results: We observed a higher frequency of statin use among controls vs cases (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.71) and a strong dose-response relation. The strongest protective association between statin use and PD was observed in long-term (>or=5 years) users (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.78). There was no difference by gender or age. We noted 60 to 70% risk reductions for each individual statin except pravastatin.

Conclusion: Ascribing causality to these associations is premature and further studies are needed to confirm a potential neuroprotective role for statins in PD.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures: The authors report no conflicts on interest.

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