Case Study
Year: 2020 | Month: September | Volume: 10 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 232-235
Pesticide Exposure and Its Association to Parkinson’s Disease Development: An Intrinsic Case Study in India
Aiswarya Anilkumar1, Geetha Veliah2, Kalpana Kosalram2
1Epidemiologist, Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad
2Associate Professor, Division of Health Communications, SRM School of Public Health, SRMIST
Corresponding Author: Aiswarya Anilkumar
ABSTRACT
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a large number of people all around the globe. Though the causation of Parkinson’s disease is not well established, findings have advocated multifactorial pathogenesis involving genetic susceptibility, ageing, and possible exposure to certain chemicals. Epidemiological and experimental studies conducted have suggested an association between exposures to pesticides and increased risk of Parkinson’s disease development. A 59-year-old man diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease for 18 years, residing in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India was assessed as Stage 2.5 (Mild bilateral disease with recovery on pull test) by Hoehn and Yahr staging scale and also reported to have no other co-morbidities. A Berg Balance score of 37 classified him into a medium fall risk category and an ABC score of 70.62% categorized him under a moderate level of functioning. This is the first self-reported case of paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s disease development in Kerala. The respondent was a farmer by occupation and reported to have used gramoxone pesticide containing paraquat for pineapple farming for more than two decades. The report on this intrinsic case study focusing on balance, paraquat exposure, disease development, and severity is unique. This would help in further research expansion on understanding the risk factors for disease development. This could serve as a regulatory basis to understand paraquat levels of concern, human levels of exposure, and its importance on neurotoxicity. This case study would also help in creating awareness regarding the harmful effects of paraquat usage and risk for Parkinson’s disease development.
Key words: Paraquat, Parkinson’s disease, Berg Balance Scale, ABC Scale, Hoehn and Yahr staging