Milk Intake Tied to Increased Risk of Parkinson's Disease

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 06 - Milk consumption in midlife is directly

related to an increased risk of Parkinson's disease in men, according to a

report in the March 22nd issue of Neurology. The ingredient or possible

neurotoxic contaminant responsible for this effect is unclear, but the

current findings suggest it's not the calcium found in the beverage.

The new findings support those of an earlier report linking high consumption

of dairy products with an elevated risk of Parkinson's disease among men,

but not women.

The current study involved 7504 men, between 45 and 68 years old, who were

enrolled in the Honolulu Heart Program and followed for 30 years for

incident Parkinson's disease. Dietary intake for all subjects was recorded

when the study began in the late 1960s.

A total of 128 subjects developed Parkinson's disease during follow-up,

senior author Dr. R. D. Abbott, from the University of Virginia Health

System in Charlottesville, and colleagues note.

The age-adjusted incidence of Parkinson's disease was directly related to

milk intake and ranged from 6.9 per 10,000 person-years for those who drank

no milk to 14.9 per 10,000 person-years for subjects who consumed more

than16 oz/day (p = 0.017). On multivariate analysis, the latter group was

2.3-times more likely to develop the disease than the former group.

By contrast, the authors found no evidence that calcium, either from dairy

or non-dairy sources, had any effect on the risk of Parkinson's disease.

While these findings support previous research, additional studies are

needed to determine the milk constituents that mediate this association, the

investigators conclude.

Neurology 2005;64:1047-1051.