Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011;6(8):e22854.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022854. Epub 2011 Aug 11.

Serum cholesterol and the progression of Parkinson's disease: results from DATATOP

Xuemei Huang  1 , Peggy Auinger, Shirley Eberly, David Oakes, Michael Schwarzschild, Alberto Ascherio, Richard Mailman, Honglei Chen; Parkinson Study Group DATATOP Investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

Serum cholesterol and the progression of Parkinson's disease: results from DATATOP

Xuemei Huang et al. PLoS One. 2011.

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have suggested that higher serum cholesterol may be associated with lower occurrence of Parkinson's disease (PD). This study is to test the hypothesis that higher serum cholesterol correlates with slower PD progression.

Methods: Baseline non-fasting serum total cholesterol was measured in 774 of the 800 subjects with early PD enrolled between 1987 and 1988 in the Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy of Parkinsonism (DATATOP) trial. Participants were followed for up to two years, with clinical disability requiring levodopa therapy as the primary endpoint. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were determined for increasing serum cholesterol concentration (in quintiles) for clinical disability requiring levodopa therapy, after adjusting for confounders. At baseline, only nine subjects reported use of cholesterol-lowering agents (two with statins).

Results: The overall mean cholesterol level was 216 mg/dL (range 100-355). The HR of progressing to the primary endpoint decreased with increasing serum cholesterol concentrations. Compared to the lowest quintile, the HRs (95%CI), for each higher quintile (in ascending order) are 0.83 (0.59-1.16); 0.86 (0.61-1.20); 0.84 (0.60-1.18); and 0.75 (0.52-1.09). The HR for one standard deviation (SD) increase = 0.90 [(0.80-1.01), p for trend = 0.09]. This trend was found in males (HR per SD = 0.88 [(0.77-1.00), p for trend = 0.05], but not in females [HR = 1.03 (0.81-1.32)].

Conclusions: This secondary analysis of the DATATOP trial provides preliminary evidence that higher total serum cholesterol concentrations may be associated with a modest slower clinical progression of PD, and this preliminary finding needs confirmation from larger prospective studies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. Tanner CM, Goldman SM, Ross GW. Jankovic J, Tolosa E, editors. Etiology of Parkinson's Disease, Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders. 2002. pp. 90–103. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA.
    1. Huang X, Chen H, Miller WC, Mailman R, Woodard JL, et al. Lower LDL cholesterol levels are associated with Parkinson's disease: a case control study. Mov Disord. 2007;22:377–381. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Scigliano G, Musicco M, Soliveri P, Piccolo I, Ronchetti G, et al. Reduced risk factors for vascular disorders in Parkinson disease patients: a case-control study. Stroke. 2006;37:1184–1188. - PubMed
    1. Miyake Y, Tanaka K, Fukushima W, Sasaki S, Kiyohara C, et al. Case-control study of risk of Parkinson's disease in relation to hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes in Japan. J Neurol Sci. 2010;293:82–86. - PubMed
    1. Huang X, Abbott RD, Petrovitch H, Mailman RB, Ross GW. Low LDL cholesterol and increased risk of Parkinson's disease: prospective results from Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. Mov Disord. 2008;23:1013–1018. - PubMed

Publication types