Objective: To explore the association between work-related stress (job control and job demands) and the risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: Chronic stress is associated with adverse neurological effects and has often been proposed as a potential environmental risk factor for PD. There is some evidence from animal studies supporting this hypothesis, but evidence from epidemiological studies is lacking.

Methods: We used a prospective population-based cohort design to investigate whether work-related stress characteristics, job control and job demands, are associated with PD risk. Job control and demands were measured using a job-exposure matrix applied to the occupation reported in the Population and Housing Censuses in 1980 or 1970. The study cohort comprised all people in Sweden born 1920-1950 who had an occupation reported in the Census in 1980 or 1970 (n = 2,576,408). The cohort was followed from 1986 to 2010 through the national patient register for PD ascertainment. Data were analyzed with Cox regression models with age as the underlying time scale, adjusting for sex and education.

Results: During a mean follow-up time of 21.1 years (SD 5.7) 21,416 incident PD cases were identified. We found a statistically significant association between job control and risk of PD. In men, there was an approximately J-shaped association between job control and PD risk, whereas in women the risk of PD increased with increasing levels of job control. We also found a statistically significant association between high job demands levels and increased risk of PD, most evident in men. Adjusting for education did not affect the observed associations.

Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study on the relation between work-related stress and PD risk. Greater job demands may increase risk of PD, especially among men, whereas high and very low levels of job control may increase risk of PD in men and high job control may confer greater risk of PD in women. This study suggests that some aspects of stress may be a risk factor for PD, whereas others may be protective.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/work-related-stress-and-risk-for-parkinsons-disease/