Carbonate Aquifer Water Linked to 24% Higher Parkinson's Risk

The type of water you drink may significantly affect your risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to new research. The study found that recently formed groundwater, which has greater exposure to contaminants, poses higher disease risks.

The research will be officially presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in April, the Daily Mail reported on the 4th (local time).

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disorder caused by the death of dopamine-producing neurons. Symptoms include hand tremors, impaired balance, body stiffness, and speech difficulties, which worsen over time. Non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and sleep disorders may also occur. The disease is sometimes called the "silent killer" because it causes complications and presents few early symptoms. In South Korea, the number of Parkinson's patients is estimated to have exceeded 150,000 as of last year.

Researchers compared 12,370 Parkinson's patients with approximately 1.2 million non-patients living within 3 miles (about 4.8 km) of 21 major aquifers. After adjusting for risk factors such as age and gender, they analyzed groundwater age, aquifer type, and drinking water sources.

The results showed that people drinking water from carbonate aquifers—groundwater layers composed of carbite rocks such as limestone—had a 24% higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to those drinking water from other aquifer types. The difference widened to 62% when compared specifically with glacial aquifer water, which comes from sand and gravel layers deposited by glaciers.

Additionally, groundwater from carbonate aquifers formed within the last 75 years showed an 11% higher disease risk compared to glacial-era groundwater more than 12,000 years old.

"Groundwater formed within the last 75 years is more exposed to contaminants, while older groundwater is located deeper underground and better protected from surface pollution," explained Brittany Krzyzanowski, a researcher at the Atria Institute in New York who led the study.

Glacial aquifers, composed of sand and gravel, naturally filter out contaminants as water moves through the ground, she added.

However, the research team emphasized that this study confirms correlation, not causation. Boiling water or using household water filters can reduce contaminant levels to some extent, the researchers noted.