Minister of Health Calls for More Research into Link Between Pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease

Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke wants more research into the link between pesticides and Parkinson’s disease. What does science teach us about this and how worrying is that?

Dieter De CleeneJanuary 19, 2024, 7:18 PM

“All kinds of things were sprayed at our company, and as children we often played in the area,” says Sandra* (44). Last year she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She grew up on an arable farm where potatoes, beets and grains in particular had to be regularly protected against diseases and pests. “Especially because I contracted the disease at such a young age, I wonder whether it might be because of those pesticides,” says Sandra. “Also because two more people in this area contracted the disease at a young age.”

A possible link between pesticide exposure and Parkinson’s disease is gaining increasing attention. Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) has asked the federal agency for occupational risks (Fedris) to further investigate the link between professional use of crop protection products and Parkinson’s disease.

Vandenbroucke announced this in Parliament on Thursday, in response to a question from Josy Arens (Les Engagés). Arens calls for compensation for farmers affected by the disease. In France, Parkinson’s disease has been recognized as an occupational disease since 2012 in farmers who have been exposed to crop protection products for at least ten years.

Parkinson’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. In Belgium, an estimated 40,000 people suffer from the disease, or about 4 in 1,000. Damage to the brain cells leads to trembling, stiffness and problems with balance and walking, but speech and memory problems, sleep and mood disorders are also common symptoms. “The only certainty patients have is that they will continue to deteriorate,” says Annick Hirschböck of the Flemish Parkinson League, who welcomes more research. “Many people with Parkinson’s have questions about their disease and pesticides are often a source of concern.”

Forbidden substances

Much is still unclear about the precise cause of the disease. Exposure to heavy metals and air pollution, among other things, has already been linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s. “There is no irrefutable evidence for a causal relationship with exposure to pesticides,” says neurologist Patrick Santens (UZ Ghent). “But various studies make it plausible that this can increase the risk.”

Santens points out that some pesticides have been shown to damage nerve cells. Various studies also show that those who work with pesticides are more likely to develop Parkinson’s. A recent overview study in the journal Reviews on Environmental Health concludes that the risk is approximately one and a half times higher. “That is not small, but of a different order than, for example, the link between smoking and lung cancer, which increases the risk by up to thirty times,” says epidemiologist Hans Kromhout (Utrecht University).

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly which substances are harmful. The development of the disease is a long process. People are exposed to a whole cocktail of chemicals, and it is very complicated to map that precise exposure over decades. In a study of 153 pesticides, Kromhout and his colleagues found an increased risk when exposed to 21 of them. “The connection is strongest among farmers and horticulturists, and less clear for local residents,” says Kromhout, who points out that notorious culprits have already been removed from the market. This is, for example, the case for the antifungal agent benomyl, the herbicide paraquat and the insecticide rotenone. “I expect that the risk of exposure to pesticides has now decreased rather than increased,” says Kromhout.

Recently, a possible link with Parkinson’s has also been mentioned by proponents of a ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate, best known as Roundup. “But the evidence for this is really wafer-thin,” says Kromhout. “Such a connection has not yet emerged from epidemiological research.”

Flawed testing

The number of people with Parkinson’s disease is increasing. This can partly be explained by the aging population, but according to Dutch neurologist Bas Bloem (Radboud University), among others, there is more going on and exposure to pesticides may also play a role.

According to researchers at Radboud University and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), pesticides are currently insufficiently tested for their possible role in the development of Parkinson’s disease. “The current admission criteria provide insufficient insight into the risk of Parkinson’s and other brain diseases,” says Bloem. They propose to investigate both existing and new substances more thoroughly for their effects on brain cells and are working on concrete proposals for this.

Sandra welcomes the increased attention, but emphasizes that she does not want to point the finger at anyone. “Everything happened when I was young with the knowledge I had at the time. Farmers often have no alternatives available. But I do hope that more interest in this issue might save others from the disease.”

*Sandra is a pseudonym.

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2024-01-19 18:18:20
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