Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Parkinson's Disease: Data From a Large Prospective European Cohort

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) etiology is not well understood. Reported inverse associations with smoking and coffee consumption prompted the investigation of alcohol consumption as a risk factor, for which evidence is inconclusive. Objective: To assess the associations between alcohol consumption and PD risk. Methods: Within NeuroEPIC4PD, a prospective European population-based cohort, 694 incident PD cases were ascertained from 209,998 PD-free participants. Average alcohol consumption at different time points was self-reported at recruitment. Cox regression hazard ratios were estimated for alcohol consumption and PD occurrence. Results: No associations between baseline or lifetime total alcohol consumption and PD risk were observed. Men with moderate lifetime consumption (5–29.9 g/day) were at ~50% higher risk compared with light consumption (0.1–4.9 g/day), but no linear exposure–response trend was observed. Analyses by beverage type also revealed no associations with PD. Conclusion: Our data reinforce previous findings from prospective studies showing no association between alcohol consumption and PD risk.