In recent years, research has indicated that rates of Parkinson's disease are lower among cigarette smokers and tobacco users than the general population. Now, a new study could have uncovered one reason why that might be the case. Several large studies have found a consistent inverse relationship between cigarette smoking and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease—meaning that the more a person smokes, the less likely they are to develop Parkinson's disease.
One of these studies included a 65-year follow up of more than 30,000 British doctors which found that smokers had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of developing Parkinson's compared to those who had never smoked. The study was published in 2020 in the journal Neurology. Another study, published in 2002 in the journal Neurology, investigated Parkinson's disease risk among identical twins and noticed that those without Parkinson's disease tended to smoke more than those with the disease, leading the researchers to conclude smoking could even be protective against Parkinson's disease.
This month, a new study has suggested carbon monoxide could be one explanation behind the surprising association. However, “the association does not mean smoking is good for the brain," Dr. Michael Okun, a professor of neurology at the University of Florida, told Newsweek.
Smoking is considered a major public health concern by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency reports that over 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease and that smoking and secondhand smoke exposure cause over 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. It is known to cause cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, type 2 diabetes, as well as many other diseases.
Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the nervous system that affects movement and gets worse over time. Symptoms commonly include tremors and shaking, muscle tightening, slower movement, fewer facial expressions, and postural instability, as well as a host of other symptoms like pain, fatigue, speech changes, changes to mental health, digestive problems, sleep problems, dementia and many others. An estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson's disease, with forecasts predicting that number will rise to 1.2 million by 2030, according to the non-profit organization Parkinson's Foundation.
It is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease in the U.S. Experts from the University of Oxford, U.K., and from Tongxiang and Beijing, China, found that individuals who never smoked but had higher exhaled carbon monoxide levels were associated with lower Parkinson's disease risk. The findings were published in JAMA Neurology on September 8, and more than 500,000 participants were involved in the study.
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