Pesticides from golf courses influence prevalence of Parkinson's disease: JAMA

There were 5,113 matched controls (median [IQR] age, 72 [65-79] years; 3043 male [59.5%]; 4504 White [88.1%]) and 419 incident PD patients (median [IQR] age, 73 [65-80] years; 257 male [61.3%]). Living within one mile of a golf course was linked to a 126% higher chance of having Parkinson's disease (PD) than living more than 6 miles away from one (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.26; 95% CI, 1.09-4.70), even after controlling for patient demographics and neighborhood variables.

The risks of Parkinson's disease (PD) were nearly twice for those who lived in water service regions with golf courses (1.96; 95% CI, 1.20-3.23) and 49% higher for those who lived in areas with private wells (1.49; 95% CI, 1.05-2.13). Furthermore, the risks of getting Parkinson's disease (PD) were 82% higher for residents of water service areas with a golf course in sensitive groundwater regions than for residents of nonvulnerable groundwater regions (a1.82; 95% CI, 1.09-3.03).

Overall, those who lived closer to golf courses had a higher chance of developing Parkinson's disease (PD) than those who lived farther away. People who lived in sensitive groundwater locations and in water service areas with golf courses had the associations with the highest likelihood increases.

Source:

Krzyzanowski, B., Mullan, A. F., Dorsey, E. R., Chirag, S. S., Turcano, P., Camerucci, E., Bower, J. H., & Savica, R. (2025). Proximity to golf courses and risk of Parkinson disease. JAMA Network Open, 8(5), e259198. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.9198