The impact of diet on Parkinson's disease risk: A data-driven analysis in a large Italian case-control population

BackgroundThe role of dietary factors as risk or protective factors for Parkinson's disease (PD) remains debated.ObjectiveThis retrospective case-control study aimed to evaluate the associations between foods identified through a data-driven analysis and PD, and to compare the relevance of dietary versus non-dietary factors as contributors to PD risk.MethodsThe study included 680 PD patients and 612 matched controls recruited from six Italian neurology centers. Dietary data were collected using a validated 77-item food frequency questionnaire, and factor analysis was conducted to identify groups of correlated foods (i.e., factors). Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between these factors and PD, while non-dietary factors were subsequently included in the model for comparison.ResultsSeven factors were identified, four of which were significantly associated with PD. High consumption of sweets (Factor 1), red meat (Factor 3), and processed meats (Factor 6) was associated with an increased PD risk, whereas a high fruit intake (Factor 2) was protective. These associations remained significant after adjusting for other known non-dietary risk/protective factors. While the increased PD risk associated with dietary factors was weaker than that of non-dietary factors, protective dietary and non-dietary factors showed comparable effects in reducing PD risk.ConclusionsData-driven analysis identified foods potentially influencing PD risk, although non-dietary factors demonstrated a greater impact on PD risk. These findings highlight the need to integrate both diet and lifestyle habits into future PD research and prevention strategies.