People with type 2 diabetes are almost a third more likely to develop Parkinson's disease in later life, a major study has found. Research involving eight million people - including two million patients in England with type 2 diabetes - found the risk increased by 32 per cent.
Scientists from University College London found the risk was significantly higher for younger patients and those with complications from diabetes, such as eye and kidney damage. The findings add to a growing body of evidence the diseases could be genetically linked or the result of insulin resistance on the brain.
Professor Tom Warner, from the Neurology Institute at University College London, who led the study, said it was most comprehensive evidence to date to show a link.
Parkinson's is a degenerative neurological condition affecting a part of the brain that helps control movement, causing tremors and rigidity. There are an estimated 145,000 people with the disease in the UK and there is currently no cure. Rising numbers of people are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, fuelled by a rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyles.
Researchers looked at data from the national hospital database over 12 years, identifying more than two million people who were admitted to the hospital for type 2 diabetes. They were then compared to six million people without diabetes, admitted for a range of minor medical and surgical procedures like sprains, varicose veins, appendectomy and hip replacement.
