The association between intermediate-term sulfur dioxide exposure and outpatient visits for Parkinson’s disease: a time-series study in southwestern China

• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29408-6
• Publication Date: 2023-08-24T11:03:07Z
• Authors: Yuegu Hu; Chunbei Zhou; Chunlei Tan; Jianghong Liu; Xiaolong Huang; Xiaoling Liu; Chunyan Yao; Dawei Li; Qingsong Huang; Na Li; Jinyun Long; Xiukuan Li; Yafei Li; Laixin Zhou; Tongjian Cai
• Keywords: Air Pollutants; China; 13. Climate action; Air Pollution; 11. Sustainability; Outpatients; Nitrogen Dioxide; Humans; Sulfur Dioxide; Female; Parkinson Disease; Particulate Matter; 3. Good health

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common human neurodegenerative disorder, and the pathogenesis of it remains poorly understood. Limited studies have shown that both long- and short-term exposure to air pollutants may be associated with increased risk of PD while lacking evidence on the effects of intermediate-term exposure. In this study, over-dispersed Poisson generalized additive models (GAMs) were applied to explore the association between intermediate-term sulfur dioxide (SO2) exposure and outpatient visits for PD in Chongqing, China, and further stratified analyses were performed by age and gender. A total of 39,984 PD cases from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2019 (2191 days) were included. The association of intermediate-term SO2 exposure with outpatient visits for PD was statistically significant: per 1 μg/m3 increase of SO2 corresponded to 2.34% (95% CI: 0.88%, 3.80%) elevation in monthly PD outpatient visits at lag 0 (the concurrent month). Stratified analyses showed that the associations between SO2 and PD outpatient visits were stronger in younger (≤ 60 years) and female patients. In conclusion, intermediate-term SO2 exposure can be associated with an increased risk of PD outpatient visits. Our results highlight the importance of recognizing the role of intermediate-term SO2 exposure in the development of PD. In addition to focusing on the effects of long-term or short-term air pollutants, it is necessary to pay more attention to the health effects of intermediate-term exposure time windows of air pollutants, which will facilitate policy formulation and public health interventions for health risks.