Table 1 Clinical and socioeconomic data from PD patients with and without occupational pesticide exposure
Variable | All Patients | Occupational pesticide exposure? | p valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | No | |||
Baseline characteristics | 150 | 20 | 130 | |
Female sex (n, %) | 81 (54%) | 9 (45%) | 72 (55.4%) | 0.53 |
Age at study enrollment (in years, mean, SD) | 64.4 (11.7) | 63.2 (11.7) | 64.6 (11.8) | 0.61 |
Lost to follow up (n, %) | 22 (14.7%) | 2 (10%) | 20 (15.4%) | 0.77 |
Disease status | ||||
Age at symptom onset (mean, SD) | 56.5 (12.1) | 54.2 (10.9) | 56.8 (12.3) | 0.34 |
Disease duration at study onset | 7.9 (5.2) | 9.0 (6.6) | 7.8 (5.0) | 0.45 |
Symptom onset before 50 years (n, %) | 43 (28.7%) | 9 (45%) | 34 (26.2%) | 0.14 |
Hoehn & Yahr Scale (mean, SD) | 2.5 (0.8) | 2.7 (0.9) | 2.5 (0.8) | 0.36 |
Total UPDRS score | 51.6 (23.5) | 67.0 (28.9) | 49.5 (22.0) | 0.05 |
Levodopa equivalent daily dose, mg (median, IQR) | 750 [509, 1074] | 775 [594, 1206] | 750 [500, 1067] | 0.67 |
Charlson Comorbidity Index | 2 [1, 3] | 2 [1, 3] | 2 [1, 3] | 0.49 |
Exposure history | ||||
Any smoking history (n, %) | 41 (27.3%) | 6 (30%) | 35 (26.9%) | 0.79 |
Medium smoking history (10–30 pack-years) | 14 (9.3%) | 3 (15%) | 11 (8.5%) | 0.40 |
Heavy smoking history (> 30 pack years) | 13 (8.7%) | 1 (5%) | 12 (9.2%) | 1.0 |
Caffeine intake (at least 80 mg/day for 10 years) | 92 (61.3%) | 14 (70%) | 78 (60%) | 0.47 |
Socioeconomic status | ||||
Patients in this subset (n) | 105 | 14 | 91 | |
Education (fewer than 9 years, n, %) | 25 (23.8%) | 3 (22.2%) | 22 (25%) | 1.0 |
Race (white) | 91.4% | 94.4% | 91.7% | 1.0 |
Private health insurance coverage | 17.1% | 14.3% | 17.6% | 1.0 |
Historical monthly income < minimum wage (when fully employed) | 9.5% | 0% | 17.6% | 0.12 |
History of working predominately in agriculture | 9.5% | 21.4% | 7.7% | 0.13 |