Golf course neighbours 'face double the risk of Parkinson's' - even if they never play

Research has suggested living within a mile of a golf course could significantly increase your risk of developing Disease (PD). Scientists from Barrow Neurological Institute the US state of Arizona looked at health data from 4,500 people living close to 139 golf courses in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The case-control study, published on the online medical journal in February, included patients with incident PD (the first instance of the disease) and matched controls from the Rochester Epidemiology Project from 1991 to 2015. Data was analysed between June and August 2024. After adjusting for patient demographics and neighborhood characteristics, they found that living within one mile of a golf course made residents 126% more likely to develop the neurodegenerative disorder compared to those living more than six miles away from one.

Meanwhile for those "farther than 3 miles from a golf course, each additional mile farther from a golf course reduced the odds of PD by 13%".

The authors said their findings suggest pesticides used on golf courses to maintain the turf's health and appearance "may play a role in the incidence PD for nearby residents".

A number of previous studies have "provided evidence of the ability for pesticides used on golf courses to leach into the ground, contaminating water supplies", noted the team, who believe that airborne exposure to pesticides "may also drive the relationship" between proximity to clubs and developing the disease.

is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain, with main symptoms including involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body (known as tremors), slow movement, and stiff and inflexible muscles.

Experts believe it is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, with most people with the condition starting to develop symptoms when they're over 50, as per the .

Corresponding author Dr Brittany Krzyzanowski wrote: "Public health policies to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination and airborne exposure from pesticides on golf courses may help reduce risk of Parkinson's disease in nearby neighbourhoods."

The study notes that for years, various pesticides known to be associated with the development of PD have been used to treat golf courses. The team say pesticides like paraquat and rotenone "have been shown to induce Parkinson-like neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra" (the part of the brain called the substantia nigra where nerve cells are lost, causing the condition) "primarily through mechanisms involving oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and dopaminergic neuron apoptosis".

However, the authors stressed that the "role of pesticide exposure from golf courses in Parkinson disease (PD) risk remains unclear", and also acknowledged various limitations to the study, including that it didn't consider relevant risk factors like previous head trauma, and genetic predisposition.

It also used distance "as a proxy to estimate exposure to pesticides occurring many decades ago, which may not reflect the same pesticides applied on these golf courses in recent years".

Prof David Dexter, Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, stressed that various factors need to be taken into account when assessing possible causes of the condition.

The academic, who was not involved in the study, told : "This study suggests an association between pesticides and Parkinson's, however there are some important limitations in the methodology to be aware of.

"Firstly, Parkinson's starts in the brain 10-15 years before diagnosis and the study didn't only use subjects who permanently lived in the area.

"This would not only affect participants' exposure, but also suggests their Parkinson's could have started before they moved around a golf course.

"The population was also not matched for location with 80% of the Parkinson's subjects living in urban areas, compared to only 30% of controls, hence other factors like air pollution from motor vehicles etc could also account for some of the increases in Parkinson's incidence. Additionally, no analysis was made of the drinking water for pesticide levels.

"Once again, this lessens the validity of the claim of pesticide exposure because the studies have not been carefully controlled."

Dr Krzyzanowski has been approached for comment via email.