Highly educated more at risk of Parkinson's disease

New research has suggested that people with high levels of education and demanding careers also have an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

According to scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the chances of developing Parkinson’s rises with years of education, or intellectually challenging jobs.

The highest risk was found in people who had studied for at least nine years, while miners, machine operators, metalworkers and farmers were less often affected.

The study results do not apparently mean that education or professional achievement cause the condition, but that people in these groups may lead lives that predispose them to the disease, or are more alert to its symptoms.

It appears that doctors are the most likely to develop the disease.

Jim Maraganore, of the Mayo Clinic team, says the figures indicate a baseline risk of 2 per cent to develop Parkinson’s disease during a lifetime, to a rise in the risk of 4 per cent if you are highly educated or a physician, or 1 per cent if you are less educated or more physically active.

He does not suggest a change of schooling plans or occupations should be made on the basis of the findings.

One possible and rather obvious explanation for the higher rates of Parkinson’s among doctors and more educated individuals could be that these people are more likely to recognise symptoms and seek professional help, and thus be diagnosed earlier.

Another possibility is that genetic or other factors that make people more likely to develop Parkinson’s also enhance the enjoyment they get from education, and thus encourage them to pursue their studies.

The study is published in the current edition of Neurology.