People with inflammatory bowel disease face an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, Danish researchers report today.
The Danish observational study means that doctors may be able to modify or slow down the progress of Parkinson’s disease by spotting signs of it in patients with IBD.
Writing in Gut, the researchers – led by Dr Tomasz Brudek of the Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen – describe how they wanted to establish if IBD was associated with risk of Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy.
They carried out a nationwide population-based cohort study involving 76,477 people who diagnosed with IBD in Denmark between 1977 and 2014 and more than 7.5 million control individuals without IBD.
The study followed participants for 37 years and it was discovered that patients with IBD appeared to have a 22% greater risk of developing the neurological condition.
A total of 335 patients with IBD (0.4%) and 39,784 non-IBD individuals (0.5%) were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, while 13 patients with IBD (0.02%) and 866 non-IBD individuals (0.01%) were diagnosed with multiple system atrophy.
There was a 35% greater risk of parkinsonism among patients with ulcerative colitis but not a significantly higher risk among patients with Crohn’s disease.
The authors conclude: “The study suggests that clinicians should be aware of symptoms of parkinsonism in patients with IBD, and the study demonstrates the need for further investigation into the role of intestinal inflammation and brain gut-microbiome axis in the aetiology of parkinsonism.
“The identification of risk factors associated with prodromal phases of Parkinson’s disease may allow for early intervention studies that could modify or slow down disease progress.”
Villumsen M, Aznar S, Pakkenberg B et al. Inflammatory bowel disease increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study 1977-2014. Gut. May 2018; doi:10.1136/ gutjnl-2017-315666
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