Mobile phone use characteristics, genetic predisposition and the risk of Parkinson's disease: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

We investigated the association between mobile phone use characteristics and Parkinson's disease (PD) risk and whether genetic predisposition modified these associations, utilising data from the UK Biobank. Participants using mobile phones for at least one hour weekly had a lower risk of PD compared to those using less than five minutes weekly (HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65-0.87). Long-term users of mobile phones over eight years had an 18% reduced risk compared to participants with a length of mobile phone use ≤1 year (HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68-1.00), and increased frequency of mobile phone use over two years was associated with a 12% lower risk than those who did not change (HR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79-0.98). No interaction between mobile phone use characteristics and PD-PRS was detected. Total brain volume, grey matter and white matter were positively associated with mobile phone use, while white matter hyperintensity was negatively associated.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; cohort study; mobile phone use characteristics; UK Biobank; older people.