Cigarette smoking and Parkinson disease

In previous studies, there were fewer cigarette smokers among persons with Parkinson disease than among other patients. We reinvestigated this phenomenon, using nonpatient controls. In home interviews with 237 Parkinson patients and 474 age-, sex-, and race-matched neighbors, we inquired about consumption of tobacco, coffee, tea, and alcohol. All Parkinson patients were diagnosed by a neurologist, had two or more cardinal features of parkinsonism, and had not received chronic phenothiazine therapy. One hundred fifty (63%) of 237 cases and 224 (47%) of 474 controls never smoked cigarettes (p < 0.0001). Significantly different smoking rates were also present at 10 and 20 years before the onset of parkinsonism.