Socioeconomic and occupational groups and Parkinson's disease: a nationwide study based on hospitalizations in Sweden

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between socioeconomic status, occupation and hospitalization for Parkinson's disease (PD). A nationwide database was constructed by linking the Swedish Census to the Hospital Discharge Register to obtain data on all first adult hospitalizations for PD diagnosed in Sweden during the study period from 1987 to 2004. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. A total of 8,870 males and 3,724 females first hospitalizations for PD were retrieved during the study period for adults aged 30 and older. Significantly increased SIRs for hospitalization for PD were found for men with high socioeconomic status. Among male occupations, increased SIRs were noted for several occupational groups such as teachers, administrators and managers, farmers, sales agents, wood workers, and painters and wall paperhangers. For female occupations, an increased risk was observed only among assistant nurses. The significant SIRs varied between 1.08 and 1.60. The socioeconomic and occupational groups used in the present study have a relatively small effect on the population's likelihood of hospitalization for PD but could give a notion of future research on specific occupational exposures.