Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Environmental toxicants and Parkinson's disease: recent evidence, risks, and prevention opportunities

E. Ray Dorsey, Briana R. De Miranda, Sarrah Hussain, Bastiaan R. Bloem, Alexis Elbaz, Jorge J. Llibre‐Guerra, Raymond Y. Lo, Samuel M. Goldman, Caroline M. Tanner

The Lancet Neurology · 2025

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Summary

This Lancet Neurology review synthesises recent evidence on the relationship between environmental toxicants—including pesticides, heavy metals, and air pollutants—and Parkinson's disease risk. The authors examine both epidemiological associations and proposed biological mechanisms, as suggested by the 2020–2025 literature, and discuss prevention opportunities at individual and population levels. The paper appears to argue that environmental modification and toxicant reduction represent underutilised strategies in Parkinson's disease prevention.

UK applicability

UK practitioners and public health planners may find this review relevant to occupational health guidance (particularly for agricultural and industrial workers) and air quality policy, though the epidemiological evidence base may reflect exposure profiles in North America and Europe. The prevention framework could inform UK environmental health initiatives, though local exposure assessments would be required.

Key measures

Parkinson's disease incidence and prevalence; relative risk and odds ratios associated with environmental toxicant exposures; mechanistic pathways (neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, protein aggregation)

Outcomes reported

The paper reviews evidence linking environmental exposures (pesticides, metals, air pollutants) to Parkinson's disease risk and identifies prevention opportunities. It synthesises recent epidemiological and mechanistic findings to inform clinical and public health strategy.

Theme
Nutrition & health
Subject
Pesticides, contaminants & food safety
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Human clinical
DOI
10.1016/s1474-4422(25)00287-x
Catalogue ID
SNmois7w44-su5qi5

Topic tags

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