Using Olmsted County data, Mayo Clinic research looks at golf courses and Parkinson’s disease risk

By: Dené K. Dryden, Post Bulletin

How close you live to a golf course can impact your risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a new study that looked at 25 years of Olmsted County data.

"We found that, basically, living close by to a golf course increases the risk of Parkinson's disease," particularly if they share a drinking water source with the golf course, said Dr. Rodolfo Savica, a Mayo Clinic neurologist and coauthor of the study, published in JAMA Network Open in May.

Among Americans age 70 or older, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common brain disease, after Alzheimer's, affecting 2 percent of that group, Savica said. Symptoms of the disease, such as tremors, slowed movements, stiff muscles and more, worsen over time. The cause of the disease is still unknown, but Savica said environmental exposures to pesticides, pollution and smoking have been studied as factors.

Savica and his coauthors decided to study golf courses and Parkinson's risk based on previous research on pesticide exposure and Parkinson's.

"Golf courses have been absolutely associated with the use of pesticide and herbicides because we have to keep the courses ... perfect," Savica said. "We're trying to see whether or not the vicinity to a golf course, living close and being exposed (to) small amounts ... can lead to some changes."

The study is truly close-to-home; the research team used data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project to identify cases of Parkinson's disease among Olmsted County residents between 1991 and 2015.

Using software to map the locations of golf courses in the county, the researchers evaluated how close those Parkinson's disease patients' home addresses were to a golf course. They also mapped water service areas to see if sharing a water supply with a golf course affected risk.

The findings: The risk of developing Parkinson's disease was greatest for those who lived within one to three miles of a golf course, and that risk "generally decreased with increasing distance from a golf course," the study says.

"We notice it's possible that individuals that drink water from water service areas that are ... nearby golf courses have twice the odds of developing Parkinson's disease," Savica added, "compared to areas where individuals are drinking the water from water service areas that are without a golf course."

Savica said the study's findings need to be replicated and, overall, more research is needed. And you don't need to urgently move to a new home or never play golf again.

"I promote my patients to be active and to do things, including golf," Savica said. "There's still a great benefit to play and to do things that help people get out, but on the other hand, we have to also play in a safe environment."

For those who live near a golf course, Savica recommends filtering your water supply — advice that could also apply to people living near other areas with pollution and pesticide exposure risk, such as farm fields and factories.

"We need to be cognizant of what we are breathing and what we are drinking," Savica said.

There are seven outdoor golf courses in Rochester, with at least one in each quadrant of the city. Other golf courses in Olmsted County include Stewartville Golf Club and Maple Valley Golf Country Club near Pleasant Grove.

This is not Savica's first study on Parkinson's disease risk that uses Rochester Epidemiology Project data. Last year, Savica and some of the same coauthors published research on air pollution and Parkinson's, again looking at Olmsted County patients.

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