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Golf courses evoke images of manicured lawns and a quiet, leisurely lifestyle.<\/p>\nGolf courses evoke images of manicured lawns and a quiet, leisurely lifestyle.<\/p>\n
But new research published in JAMA Network Open<\/em> suggests that living near one could sharply increase your risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n The closer you live, the worse it gets.<\/p>\n How does that make sense?<\/p>\n In the U.S., golf courses are drenched in pesticides \u2014 up to 15 times more than in most European countries.<\/p>\n These chemicals keep the grass green and pest-free, but they can also seep into the soil, contaminate water supplies, and possibly harm nearby residents.<\/p>\n Since pesticide exposure has long been linked to Parkinson\u2019s, researchers wanted to see if the risk was higher for those living near golf courses.<\/p>\n They used health records from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which includes data from residents in 27 counties across Minnesota and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n They studied 419 people diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s between 1991 and 2015, along with over 5,000 similar individuals without the disease.<\/p>\n Then they mapped how far participants lived from golf courses and whether they lived in areas served by water sources near or on golf courses.<\/p>\n Especially where groundwater was considered vulnerable to contamination.<\/p>\n They also accounted for age, race, gender, income, and whether someone lived in a city or rural area.<\/p>\n The results? Alarming.<\/p>\n ●\tEach mile beyond 3 miles<\/strong> from a golf course reduced Parkinson\u2019s risk by 13%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ●\tPeople using water from areas with a golf course<\/strong> had nearly double<\/strong> the odds of Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n ●\tIf that area had vulnerable groundwater<\/strong>, risk jumped by 82%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ●\tThose using municipal water in golf course areas<\/strong> had 49% higher odds<\/strong> than people with private wells.\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n But it\u2019s not just pesticides on golf courses that cause Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n There are several types of chemical buildup in your brain that are causing your Parkinson\u2019s to progress.<\/p>\n Which is a good thing (in a weird way) because it\u2019s pretty easy to naturally clear out this chemical, and with that stop the progression of your condition.<\/p>\n\n