IBD Tied to Parkinson Risk

Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of developing Parkinson disease (PD) later in life, according to new findings. This association was found to be strongest among patients with ulcerative colitis.

Researchers arrived at this conclusion following a study of individuals in Denmark who were diagnosed with IBD between 1977 and 2014 (n = 76,477), along with controls from the general population who were similar in age, gender, and vital status (n = 7,548,259).
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All patients with IBD were followed from date of diagnosis or index date to the occurrence of PD and multiple system atrophy (MSA), using data from the Danish National Patient Register.

Results of the study showed that patients with IBD had 22% higher odds of developing PD compared with controls (hazard ratio [HR] 1.22).

The overall incidence of MSA was low in this cohort. However, findings from a regression analysis still indicated a tendency towards higher risk for MSA in patients with IBD compared with controls (HR 1.41).

The researchers noted that the increased risk of parkinsonism was significantly higher in ulcerative colitis (HR 1.35), but was not significantly different in Crohn disease (HR 1.12).

“This nationwide, unselected, cohort study shows a significant association between IBD and later occurrence of PD, which is consistent with recent basic scientific findings of a potential role of GI inflammation in development of parkinsonian disorders,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Villumsen M, Aznar S, Pakkenberg B, Jess T, Brudek T. Inflammatory bowel disease increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study 1977-2014 [Published online May 21, 2018]. Gut. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315666