Abdominal Obesity and Parkinsons

[pdpatient]

Here is a summary of the key points from the article:

- The study examined the association between waist circumference and risk of Parkinson's disease using a large cohort of 6,925,646 South Koreans aged 40 years and older.

- Participants underwent health screening in 2009 and were followed until 2018 for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. During the follow-up period, 33,300 new cases of Parkinson's disease were identified.

- Higher waist circumference was associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease in a dose-dependent manner. The highest waist circumference group had a 16% higher risk of Parkinson's disease compared to the reference group.

- The presence of abdominal obesity, defined as waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for males and ≥ 85 cm for females, was also associated with a 10% increased risk of Parkinson's disease.

- The associations between waist circumference, abdominal obesity and Parkinson's disease risk remained even after adjusting for BMI and other potential confounders.

- Subgroup analysis showed that abdominal obesity was associated with increased Parkinson's disease risk regardless of age, smoking status, BMI level, presence of hypertension or diabetes.

- The study concludes that higher waist circumference and abdominal obesity reflects an increased risk of Parkinson's disease, even among non-obese individuals. Abdominal obesity may play a role in Parkinson's disease development through factors like insulin resistance and visceral adipose tissue.

In summary, the study provides evidence that central adiposity, as measured by waist circumference, is associated with increased risk of Parkinson's disease, independent of general obesity. This suggests abdominal fat accumulation may be a risk factor for Parkinson's disease.

nature.com/articles/s41531-...

[Boscoejean]

well maybe this is the case in Korea but my husband has always been very thin so I am not sure that this can be generalized

[pdpatient in reply to Boscoejean]

Frustrating isn't it? I was very obese when diagnosed and I do notice that as I keep dropping in weight, my meds respond better. I have been losing weight just to keep my mobility intact but it does frustrate me that I don't have the answer to why I am the only one in my large extended family that has the disorder.

[Esperanto in reply to pdpatient]

Just bad luck. Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer. However, you do have a greater chance. Ditto with a larger waist circumference, the risk of PD is increasing.

[Boscoejean in reply to pdpatient]

yes very difficult for my husband to keep weight on

[MsPrint]

I can’t help but wonder if this is confusing cause and effect. My “Parkie” husband has always been very small for a man but when he got PD he started complaining about his belt being too tight and wanting his pants to be looser. The intestinal contents just isn’t moving through as fast as it was when he was healthy and his waist is expanding. He also complains of feeling full sooner during meals so he doesn’t eat as much as he used to and he’s losing weight even tho he still complains of too-tight belts.