Researchers from University of British Columbia found that severe influenza can double the odds of developing Parkinson's disease later in life, while people who contracted a typical case of red measles as children are 35 per cent less likely to develop Parkinson's.
The disease is a nervous system disorder marked by slowness of movement, shaking, stiffness, and in the later stages, loss of balance.
The findings by researchers at UBC's School of Population and Public Health and the Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre, were published online this month in the journal Movement Disorders.
The researchers interviewed 403 Parkinson's patients and 405 healthy people in British Columbia, Canada.
Lead author Anne Harris also examined whether occupational exposure to vibrations such as operating construction equipment had any effect on the risk of Parkinson's.
In another study, published online this month by the American Journal of Epidemiology, Harris and her collaborators reported that occupational exposure actually decreased the risk of developing the disease by 33 per cent, compared to people whose jobs involved no exposure, a statement by the University said.
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Harris also found that those exposed to high-intensity vibrations by driving snowmobiles, military tanks or high-speed boats had a consistently higher risk of developing Parkinson's than people whose jobs involved lower-intensity vibrations like operating road vehicles.
"There are no cures or prevention programmes for Parkinson's, in part because we still don't understand what triggers it in some people and not others," said Harris, who conducted the research while earning her doctorate at UBC.
"This kind of painstaking epidemiological detective work is crucial in identifying the mechanisms that might be at work, allowing the development of effective prevention strategies," she said.