Individuals living within 1 mi of golf course have 126% higher Parkinsons risk

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2833716

by randycupertino • 2 months ago

18 9 2 months ago

jamanetwork.com

randycupertino• 2 months ago

Herbicides might be the reason:

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/paraquat-parkinsons-l...

ticulatedspline• 2 months ago

fun stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraquat

China also banned the domestic use of Paraquat in 2017;
Paraquat is widely used as a suicide agent in developing countries because it is widely available at low cost. Further, the toxic dose is low (10 mL or 2 teaspoons is enough to kill).

Someday (assuming humanity makes it that long) people will look back on this era the way we look back on the Romans and their lead pipes.

sbayg• 2 months ago

The link between Parkinson’s and herbicides is known, but I’m not so convinced it’s an issue of groundwater contamination. There are confounds in the location of both people and golf courses that are not controlled for by urban/rural/age/income/race. For example people may live near golf courses because they like to play golf. Golf courses could be located in areas where there is more agriculture, even with the urban/rural control in the model.

legitster• 2 months ago

I know they probably controlled for age. But I think the correlation of age/retirement, Parkinsons, and living next to a golf course are so closely linked together that even small changes differences in cohorts are going to have extremely different outcomes.

adjejmxbdjdn• 2 months ago

If you live next to a golf course you are probably living in a suburban house in the middle of nowhere and not going anywhere through the day.

Your mental stimulation once you age and aren’t able to drive much is probably at a bare minimum.

There may be similar correlations between the kind of lives people living near a golf course may have led.

altairprime• 2 months ago

This is a plausible hypothesis in general, but doesn’t weaken the argument of pesticide toxicity supported by this multiplier:

individuals living in water service areas with a golf course in vulnerable groundwater regions had 82% greater odds of developing PD compared with those in nonvulnerable groundwater regions

metalman• 2 months ago

it's the ploink sound causing it

which is fair, as any other cause would show up more significantly in other populations, :owner operator grounds keepers, farmers, etc. data is scued somehow.

edit: cross corelate with prevailing winds to eliminate "sprays"

Jamesbeam• 2 months ago

What if you’re basically living ON a golf course? Asking for a friend in the White House.

deflator• 2 months ago

The caddyshack gophers must have moved on to chemical warfare

Individuals living within 1 mi of golf course have 126% higher Parkinsons risk

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