Alzheimer disease: Risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease increases with occupational pesticide exposure.

摘要

Occupational exposure to pesticides increases the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD) in later life, according to a longitudinal population-based cohort study published in Neurology. The results of this study provide further evidence that certain environmental factors are risk factors for these debilitating conditions. Long-term exposure to pesticides has been hypothesized to have deleterious effects on the nervous system. Indeed, a growing body of evidence indicates that pesticide exposure might increase the risk of developing Parkinson disease. Few studies have, however, investigated an association between pesticide exposure and risk of AD. Furthermore, "these studies were relatively small and the findings have been equivocal," explains Kathleen Hayden (Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA) lead author of the new study.