Whooping Cough and Parkinson's Disease

• Published in: International Journal of Epidemiology
• Main Authors: DE PEDRO-CUESTA, JESÚS, GUDMUNDSSON, GRETAR, ABRAIRA, VICTOR, GUDMUNDSSON, GUNNAR, LOVE, ARTHUR, TULINIUS, HRAFN, VEIGA, JORGE, ALMAZÁN, JAVIER, PETERSEN, INGOLF J, THE EUROPARKINSON PREPARATORY ACTIVITY RESEARCH GROUP
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 1996
• Subjects: Original Articles; Petersen; Iceland
• Online Access: http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/25/6/1301; https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/25.6.1301

de Pedro-Cuesta J (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro Nacional de Epidemiolog�a, Departamento de Epidemiolog�a Aplicada, c/ Sinesio Delgado, 6, 28029 Madrid, Spain), Gudmundsson G, Abraira V, Gudmundsson G, Lōve A, Tulinius H, Veiga J, Almaz�n J and Petersen I J for the EUROPARKINSON Preparatory Activity Research Group. Whooping Cough and Parkinson' Disease. International Journal of Epidemiology 1996; 25: 1301–1311. Background We reported high levodopa use and prevalences of Parkinson's Disease (PD) in periodically, time-clustered, Icelandic cohorts born after major whooping cough epidemics (MWCE). Methods In order to quantify a possible relationship between age at first post-birth MWCE and risk of PD we: 1) calculated cumulative incidences of PD during the period 1954–1963 in one-year Icelandic cohorts born between 1869 and 1927, using raw material from a reported survey; 2) identified MWCE from 1869 onwards in Iceland; 3) estimated cohort ages at onset of incidence period and at first MWCE; and 4) combined the above-mentioned information using log-linear models. In addition, we studied the prevalence of levodopa users in Icelandic birth cohorts during a recent period. Results The curves of the above-mentioned incidences and prevalences in one-year birth-cohorts showed: 1) a similar, age-related, inverted V profile; and 2) a systematic notchy pattern, with peak values for one or both measurements for cohorts born during or after each of nine MWCE identified during the period 1869–1927. When 13 cohorts bom in years with MWCE were excluded from the analysis, the risk of PD rose with age at first defined MWCE, with the linear increase being 8.4% per year (95% Cl: −0.1–18.3%). Conclusions These results are consistent with reported effects of age at exposure in animal models of toxic parkinsonism, age-related changes in the dopamine receptor-GPT-binding protein-adenylatecyclase system observed in rats treated with pertussis toxin, and some PD epidemiological features. They suggest that pertussis neurotoxicity ...