An alarming study claims living near a golf course, often considered prime real estate, can significantly increase one’s risk of developing Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the gradual loss of motor control.
Patients who lived within one to three miles of a course were most affected, according to the study.
The study, published in JAMA, compared data from 419 people with Parkinson’s from southern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin to a control group between 1991 to 2015.
The data led researchers from the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona and the Mayo Clinic to suspect pesticides sprayed throughout the expansive courses, which may seep into groundwater, could be to blame.
“After adjusting for patient demographics and neighborhood characteristics, living within 1 mile of a golf course was associated with 126% increased odds of developing PD [Parkinson’s Disease] compared with individuals living more than 6 miles away from a golf course,” the study states.
“Additionally, individuals living in water service areas with a golf course in vulnerable groundwater regions had 82% greater odds of developing PD compared with those in nonvulnerable groundwater regions,” the study states.
Hellbound and Down 