GASTROENTERITIS AND COLITIS AND SUBSEQUENT RISK OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Abstract

It is hypothesized that Parkinson's disease (PD) may be caused by chronic systemic inflammation, and previous studies have shown that inflammatory bowl disease (IBD) or gastrointestinal infection with Helicobacter pylori causing gastritis and peptic ulcers may increase the risk for PD. We investigated the risk of PD in patients who were diagnosed with gastroenteritis and colitis and hypothesized that not only chronic but also acute systemic inflammation may be associated with a higher risk for PD. We used a longitudinal sample of 238,721 persons aged 50 and older from claims data of the largest German health insurer, containing 5,361 incident PD diagnoses between 2006 and 2013. We used Cox regression to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for PD and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for potential confounders. Risk of PD was increased in patients with viral infections (HR 1.28; 95 % CI 1.10–1.48), with gastroenteritis and colitis of infectious and unspecified origin (HR 1.23; 95 % CI 1.14–1.34), with bacterial intestinal infections (HR 1.24; 95 % CI 1.04–1.49), and with noninfective gastroenteritis and colitis other than IBD (HR 1.08; 95 % CI 1.00–1.16) when compared to the general population cohort. Gastroenteritis and colitis of infectious and non-infectious origin is associated with an increased risk for subsequent PD.