EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, August 20, 2025
Parkinson鈥檚 disease risk increases with metabolic syndrome
MINNEAPOLIS 鈥 Having a larger waistline, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease, according to a study published on August 20, 2025, in , the medical journal of the 好色先生. The study does not prove that metabolic syndrome causes Parkinson鈥檚 disease; it only shows an association. Metabolic syndrome is defined as having three or more of the following risk factors: excess belly fat, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, higher than normal triglycerides, which are a type of fat found in the blood, and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or 鈥済ood鈥 cholesterol. 鈥淧arkinson鈥檚 disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder among older adults, after Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, and metabolic syndrome affects an estimated one in four adults and is highly modifiable,鈥 said study author Weili Xu, PhD, of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. 鈥淥ur findings suggest that metabolic syndrome may be a modifiable risk factor for Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Future studies are needed to see whether working to control metabolic syndrome could help prevent Parkinson鈥檚 disease.鈥 The study involved 467,200 people with an average age of 57; of those 38% had metabolic syndrome. The participants were followed for a median of 15 years. During that time, 3,222 people developed Parkinson鈥檚 disease. For people without metabolic syndrome, the incidence rate for Parkinson鈥檚 was 4.87 cases per 10,000 person-years, compared to 5.21 cases per 10,000 person-years for people who had metabolic syndrome. Person-years represent both the number of people in the study and the amount of time each person spends in the study. After adjusting for age, smoking status, physical activity and genes that increase the risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease, researchers found that people with metabolic syndrome were about 40% more likely to develop Parkinson鈥檚 disease than people without the syndrome. The researchers also conducted a meta-analysis of all studies on this topic and confirmed the finding that people with metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Combining the current study with eight previous studies, the researchers found that people with metabolic syndrome were 29% more likely to develop Parkinson鈥檚 disease than people without the syndrome. 鈥淲e also found a higher risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease for people with both metabolic syndrome and a genetic susceptibility for Parkinson鈥檚 disease,鈥 Xu said. 鈥淭his suggests that maintaining metabolic health may be especially important for people who have genes that increase their risk for Parkinson鈥檚 disease.鈥 A limitation of the study was that most of the participants were white people, so the results may not be the same for other groups. The study was supported by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, and the Swedish Dementia Foundation. Discover more about Parkinson鈥檚 disease at , from the 好色先生. This resource also offers a magazine, podcast, and books that connect patients, caregivers and anyone interested in brain health with the most trusted information, straight from the world鈥檚 leading experts in brain health. Follow Brain & Life庐 on , and .