The Association between Anemia and Parkinson's Disease: A Nested Case-Control Study Using a National Health Screening Cohort

Abstract

(1) Background: Controversy exists regarding the relationship between anemia and Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to evaluate the risk of PD related to anemia in the Korean population. (2) Methods: The Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort, which includes adults over 40 years of age, was assessed from 2002 to 2015. A total of 5844 PD patients were matched by age, sex, income, and region of residence with 23,376 control participants at a ratio of 1:4. The analyzed covariates included age, sex, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, obesity, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted for case-control analyses. (3) Results: The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the risk of PD associated with anemia was 1.09 after adjusting for potential confounders (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.18, p = 0.030). Among men younger than 70 years, the adjusted OR of PD was 1.34 (95% CI 1.13-1.60, p = 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest that anemia may increase the risk of PD, particularly in men younger than 70 years. Further research is required to elucidate the causal relationship between these two diseases.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; anemia; hemoglobin; iron; neurodegeneration; pathogenesis.

Figure 1

A schematic illustration of the participant selection courses used in this study. Of the total 514,866 participants, 5844 Parkinson’s disease patients were matched with 23,376 control participants for age, sex, income, and region of residence.

Figure 2

Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the risk of PD associated with anemia stratified by comorbidities. aOR–Adjusted odds ratio; BMI–Body mass index; CI–Confidence interval; DBP–Diastolic blood pressure; SBP–Systolic blood pressure.