Introduction:

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, incapacitating and incurable neurodegenerative disease; in 90% of cases its etiology is polygenic and multifactorial. Comarca Lagunera is the ninth most populated area of Mexico, located in the center-north; its concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead exceed in 1-3 orders of magnitude acceptable levels.

Objective:

To evaluate the association of environmental factors with the development of PD in this region.

Materials and Methods:

Patients and controls were more of 18 years old, they agreed to participate with the signature of the informed consent; they were natives and residents of Lagunera region; PD diagnosis was made according Diagnostic Criteria of the Brain Bank of the United Kingdom; controls were healthy people without history of neurological disease. All of them underwent neurological evaluation.

Results:

204 people were included: 60 persons with PD diagnoses and 144 controls; consumption of tobacco, coffee and tea were associated to negative effect to develop PD, while rural housing, source of water consumption, and the exposition to pesticides and lead were not associated to PD.

Conclusions:

In accordance with other studies, smoking, consumption of coffee and tea were protective factors for the development of PE, while consumption water well, exposure to pesticides and/or lead, and rural housing were not associated to PD; so, their presumed participation as “triggers” of the disease remains controversial.

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