Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2010 Jul 27;75(4):341-8.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181ea1597.

Physical activities and future risk of Parkinson disease

Q Xu  1 , Y Park, X Huang, A Hollenbeck, A Blair, A Schatzkin, H Chen
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Physical activities and future risk of Parkinson disease

Q Xu et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

Objective: To prospectively investigate the relationship between physical activity and Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods: We evaluated physical activity in relation to PD among 213,701 participants of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort. Physical activities over 4 periods (ages 15-18, 19-29, and 35-39, and in the past 10 years) were noted in 1996-1997, and physician-diagnosed PD was reported on the 2004-2006 follow-up questionnaire. Only cases diagnosed after 2000 (n = 767) were included in the analyses.

Results: Higher levels of moderate to vigorous activities at ages 35-39 or in the past 10 years as reported in 1996-1997 were associated with lower PD occurrence after 2000 with significant dose-response relationships. The multivariate odds ratios (OR) between the highest vs the lowest levels were 0.62 (95% CI confidence interval [CI] 0.48-0.81, p for trend 0.005) for ages 35-39 and 0.65 (95% CI 0.51-0.83, p for trend 0.0001) for in the past 10 years. Further analyses showed that individuals with consistent and frequent participation in moderate to vigorous activities in both periods had approximately a 40% lower risk than those who were inactive in both periods. Moderate to vigorous activities at earlier ages or light activities were not associated with PD. Finally, the association between higher moderate to vigorous physical activities and lower PD risk was demonstrated in a metaanalysis of prospective studies.

Conclusions: Although we cannot exclude the possibility that less participation in physical activity is an early marker of PD, epidemiologic evidence suggests that moderate to vigorous exercise may protect against PD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Figure 1 Changes of physical activities in relation to risk of Parkinson disease (PD) Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of PD after 2000 according to changes of moderate to vigorous physical activities between ages 35-39 and in the past 10 years as reported at the risk factor survey in 1996-1997. The analysis adjusted for age at risk factors survey, gender, race, education levels, smoking status, and coffee consumption.
None
Figure 2 A mini meta-analysis of prospective studies on physical activities and risk of Parkinson disease (PD) in men and women Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were between the highest activity levels and the lowest. Squares indicate the individual OR in each study. The size of each square is proportional to the percent weight of that individual study in the meta-analysis, and the horizontal line represents the 95% CI. Pooled ORs and 95% CIs are indicated by the solid diamonds. The pooled p values were 0.0002 for men, 0.02 for women, and <0.0001 for men and women combined.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Pate RR, Pratt M, Blair SN, et al. Physical activity and public health: a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. JAMA 1995;273:402–407. - PubMed
    1. Hu FB, Willett WC, Li T, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Manson JE. Adiposity as compared with physical activity in predicting mortality among women. N Engl J Med 2004;351:2694-2703. - PubMed
    1. Abbott RD, White LR, Ross GW, Masaki KH, Curb JD, Petrovitch H. Walking and dementia in physically capable elderly men. JAMA 2004;292:1447–1453. - PubMed
    1. Rovio S, Kareholt I, Helkala EL, et al. Leisure-time physical activity at midlife and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Lancet Neurol 2005;4:705–711. - PubMed
    1. Lautenschlager NT, Cox KL, Flicker L, et al. Effect of physical activity on cognitive function in older adults at risk for Alzheimer disease: a randomized trial. JAMA 2008;300:1027–1037. - PubMed

Publication types