{"id":1536084,"date":"2025-05-14T21:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T01:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1536084"},"modified":"2025-05-14T21:40:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T01:40:00","slug":"living-near-golf-courses-may-double-parkinsons-risk-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/living-near-golf-courses-may-double-parkinsons-risk-study-finds\/1536084\/","title":{"rendered":"Living Near Golf Courses May Double Parkinson’s Risk, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living Near Golf Courses May Double Parkinson’s Risk, Study Finds<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

Residents living within one mile of golf courses may face more than double the risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s disease compared to those living farther away,<\/strong> according to new research.<\/p>\n

Potentially Due to Groundwater Contamination<\/h2>\n

The case-control study<\/a>, recently published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from more than 400 residents living with Parkinson\u2019s and more than 5,000 matched controls across southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, from 1991 to 2015.<\/p>\n

DG FotoStock\/Shutterstock<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers looked at how close the individuals lived to golf courses and whether their drinking water came from groundwater sources, especially in regions vulnerable to groundwater contamination from pesticide or herbicide use.<\/p>\n

The findings showed that those living within one mile of a golf course had more than twice the odds of developing Parkinson\u2019s compared to those living more than six miles away.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The study also found that residents whose tap water was supplied from groundwater sources, particularly in regions prone to groundwater pollution, faced nearly twice the risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s if their water source was near a golf course.<\/p>\n

While the study did not measure the type of pesticides used at the golf courses, the authors wrote that studies have linked pesticides used to treat golf courses with the development of Parkinson\u2019s. Examples of pesticides include chlorpyrifos, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), Mancozeb, and so on.<\/p>\n

Pesticides have been linked to nerve cell damage associated with Parkinson\u2019s, yet are still commonly applied to golf courses to keep turf healthy and aesthetically pleasing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These can enter the environment through runoff or groundwater contamination, which could leach into underground water supplies, according to researchers.<\/p>\n

Parkinson\u2019s is a progressive and currently has no cure. Risk of developing the degenerative condition increases with age, and most patients are diagnosed when older than 50.<\/p>\n

Dr. M. Maral Mouradian, distinguished professor of neurology and director of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Institute for Neurological Therapeutics, and not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times that the study adds to growing evidence that environmental exposures may play a role in the disease\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

An unrelated 2020 study<\/a> identified a cluster of Parkinson\u2019s cases in a golf community. According to this group of researchers, golf courses may use more pesticides per acre than are used in agriculture.<\/p>\n

This can be due to golf courses striving for a visually appealing, uniform appearance that can be achieved using large amounts of pesticides to control weeds, insects, and diseases that could compromise this look.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were contacted by a golf community of approximately 2200 people because of a concern that PD was unusually prevalent in their community<\/strong>,\u201d wrote the researchers of the 2020 study.<\/p>\n

They discovered that among the multiple pesticides used on the golf course, there were three previously linked with Parkinson\u2019s risk: Mancozeb, 2,4-D, and manganese oxide.<\/p>\n

Significant Limitations of the Study: Expert<\/h2>\n

Independent experts, not involved in the study, urge caution over interpreting the results.<\/p>\n

Dr. Michael Genovese, physician and chief medical adviser at Ascendant New York, told The Epoch Times that researchers didn\u2019t directly measure pesticide exposure, such as testing people\u2019s blood or checking the water for chemicals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means we cannot say pesticides caused the increase in Parkinson\u2019s<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can say that the results are very suspicious and match what other research has shown about pesticides being harmful to the brain.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor David Dexter, director of research at Parkinson\u2019s UK, explained other significant limitations of the JAMA study in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirstly, Parkinson\u2019s starts in the brain 10-15 years before diagnosis, and the study didn\u2019t only use subjects who permanently lived in the area,\u201d he said. \u201cThis would not only affect participants\u2019 exposure, but also suggests their Parkinson\u2019s could have started before they moved around a golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, the population was not matched for location, with 80 percent of the Parkinson\u2019s subjects living in urban areas, compared to only 30 percent of controls<\/strong>. Dexter continued, \u201cHence other factors like air pollution from motor vehicles, etc. could also account for some of the increases in Parkinson\u2019s incidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Genovese said this study should still be considered a \u201cwake-up call,\u201d even if it does not offer absolute proof. \u201cThe pattern it shows is tough to ignore.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 05\/14\/2025 – 17:40<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/medical\/living-near-golf-courses-may-double-parkinsons-risk-study-finds<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living Near Golf Courses May Double Parkinson’s Risk, Study Finds Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Residents living within one mile…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1536085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1536084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbimBl-6rBy","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/image_92283329_0-4ZsyvN.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1536084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1536084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1536084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1536085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1536084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1536084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1536084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}