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Projecttitle Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and pesticides and the development of Parkinson Disease - a case-control study
Investigators M. van der Mark, MSc
Type of project PhD project
Project leader Prof. dr. ir. J. Kromhout
Co-operation
  • Drs. P. Nijssen, St Elisabeth hospital Tilburg
  • Prof. dr. G.R. de Snoo, Leiden University
Time frame 2009 - 2013
Funded by ZonMw, International Parkinson Fund
Short description
Aim

A multi-centre case-control study on Parkinson Disease will be conducted in which associations with environmental exposure to pesticides and extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF)-EMF will be investigated.

  • To test the hypothesis that persons who have been exposed environmentally to pesticides have an increased risk of developing Parkinson Disease.
  • To test the hypothesis that persons with higher exposure during their life to ELF-EMF have an increased risk to develop Parkinson Disease.
Methods

A multi-centre hospital-based case-control study on Parkinson Disease with four participating Parkinson treatment centres in different regions of the Netherlands will be conducted.
Details

Cases: All patients of idiopathic Parkinson Disease in the study centers from 2003 will be invited to participate in the study. Each center is expected to enroll 200-300 patients of idiopathic Parkinson Disease per center.

Controls: Control subjects will be selected from the same neurology departments and will tentatively be patients treated for carpal tunnel syndrome or a lumbar hernia

Data collection: Face-to-face interviews will be held with all cases and controls (or proxies if necessary). In these interviews a complete residential and occupational history and specific information on potential confounders will be obtained.

Environmental exposure assessment: (Historical) land use maps will be linked with home addresses using geo information system (GIS) models for the environmental exposure to pesticides at the home addresses. Environmental exposure to ELF-EMF (for by example power lines) will also be assigned based on GIS models.

Occupational exposure assessment: occupational exposure to pesticides, ELF-EMF, and to possible other occupational factors (e.g. solvents, metals) will be assessed via job histories that will be linked to existing and to be developed job-exposure matrices.

Statistical analyses: Self-reported and modeled pesticides and ELF-EMF exposure levels among the Parkinson Disease patients will be compared with the exposure levels of the control subjects.
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