Objective: To investigate environmental exposures associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in Kyrgyzstan, focusing on pesticide exposure and smoking, and to explore potential sex-stratified associations.

Background: Environmental exposures are increasingly recognized as contributors to PD risk; yet, epidemiological data from Central Asia remain scarce.

Method: We analysed data from a case–control study including 284 patients with PD and 310 age- and sex-matched controls recruited from urban and rural settings in Kyrgyzstan. Pesticide exposure was defined as self-reported regular contact with pesticides for ≥6 months. Lifetime smoking history was assessed using a structured questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression. Baseline characteristics are summarized in Table 1.

Results: Pesticide exposure was more frequent among PD cases than controls (44.4% vs. 23.2%; OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.88–3.81; p<0.0001), while smoking was less common among PD patients than controls (19.4% vs. 26.1%; OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.46–1.00) (Figure 1). In exploratory sex-stratified analyses, pesticide exposure was associated with increased odds of PD in both men and women, while smoking showed an inverse association in men but not in women.

Conclusion: In this case–control study from Kyrgyzstan, pesticide exposure was associated with increased odds of PD, while smoking showed an inverse association in men in exploratory analyses. These findings provide new epidemiological evidence from Central Asia and support further large-scale investigation of environmental risk factors in PD in Kyrgyzstan.

Baseline characteristics of study participants

Associations between pesticide exposure & smoking

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/pesticide-exposure-and-smoking-in-parkinsons-disease-in-kyrgyzstan-a-case-control-study/