Overview

• Analyzing 467,200 adults in the UK Biobank followed a median 15 years, researchers recorded 3,222 incident Parkinson’s cases.
• After adjusting for age, smoking, activity and genetic risk, metabolic syndrome was associated with about a 40% higher Parkinson’s risk, with risk rising as more syndrome components were present.
• A pooled meta-analysis combining the new results with eight prior studies found a 29% higher risk among people with metabolic syndrome across nearly 25 million participants.
• The highest risk occurred in participants who had metabolic syndrome and a high Parkinson’s polygenic risk score, with a reported hazard ratio of 2.58.
• Researchers emphasized the findings show association rather than causation, noted limited racial diversity in the cohort, and called for diverse, interventional studies to test prevention.