Physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the destruction of certain neurons in the brain and the accumulation of proteins that are toxic to them. In France, it is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. As there is as yet no cure, it is crucial to identify ways of preventing it.

Studies have shown that the risk of developing Parkinson's disease is reduced in people who are very physically active, but these studies did not focus specifically on women. What's more, they were based on a short follow-up and included only a single assessment of physical activity, which makes it difficult to avoid the "reverse causality" bias. In fact, changes in behaviour (in this case, a reduction in physical activity), which occur before the diagnosis of the disease and are due to disorders that are precursors of the disease, are likely to distort the statistical analyses if there is not enough follow-up time.

As part of a thesis, researchers studied the relationship between physical activity and Parkinson's disease in the prospective E3N cohort.