Living near this popular sporting establishment can triple your risk of Parkinson’s disease

Living alongside a golf course can seem a dream, with lush greens, a peaceful environment and an atmosphere of a luxury lifestyle. However, new research suggests that this idyllic framework could have a hidden cost. Scientists have found that people living near golf courses can face an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement and coordination. Common symptoms include tremors, stiffness, slow motion and balance problems. Although the exact cause is unknown, the genetic and environmental factors are supposed to play a role.

The latest study published in the journal Jama Network Open reveals that people living less than two kilometers from a golf course are confronted almost three times the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The risk is the highest for residents of water service areas where golf courses are located in regions subject to contamination of groundwater.

This increased risk is linked to the intensive use of pesticides on golf courses, which are applied in the United States to rates up to 15 times higher than in many European countries. These chemicals can infiltrate the soil and contaminate groundwater, which raises serious concerns concerning the safety of local drinking water.

For the study, the researchers analyzed the medical records of the Epidemiology Project rockster, covering 27 counties of Minnesota and Wisconsin between 1991 and 2015. They examined the relationship between life near golf courses and the risk of Parkinson’s disease, focusing on areas surrounding 139 golf courses.

“We have observed that the risk of developing a PD was the highest for those who live less than 1 to 3 miles from a golf course and that the risk of PD generally decreased with an increasing distance from a golf course. We also found that individuals obtaining their drinking water from the water service areas with a golf course had almost the chances of PD compared to the drinking water golf, “wrote the researchers.

The researchers found that if the risk of Parkinson’s disease has remained stable for those who live less than three kilometers from a golf course, it decreased by 13% for each mile beyond. Pesticides including organophosphates, chlorpyrifos, methylchlorophenoxpropionic acid (MCPP), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2.4-D) acid, manebe and organochlobes, which are known to be linked to Parkinson’s disease, are commonly used to treat golf courses.