Parkinson's disease

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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Risk factors for Parkinson's disease include:

  • Age. Young adults very rarely experience Parkinson's disease. It ordinarily begins in middle or late life, and the risk continues to increase with age.
  • Heredity. Having one or more close relatives with Parkinson's increases the chances that you'll also develop the disease, although your risk is still less than 5 percent. Recent evidence suggests a crucial role for small contributions from many different genes that program brain architecture.
  • Sex. Men are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than women are.
  • Exposure to toxins. Ongoing exposure to herbicides and pesticides puts you at slightly increased risk of Parkinson's.

DS00295

Jan. 14, 2009

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