Vascular Risk Factors and the Risk of Incident Parkinson’s Disease Among Stroke Survivors: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Stroke survivors often present vascular risk factors (VRFs) that are increasingly recognized as contributing to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). We examined the influence of VRFs on the risk of PD in stroke survivors. Methods: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, we identified 284,799 individuals with new-onset stroke and followed them for the occurrence of PD. The diagnosis of PD was confirmed using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) code G20 and the rare disease registration code (V124). Results: Cox proportional hazard analyses revealed that smoking (former: Hazard ratio [HR] = 0.80; current: HR = 0.66) and alcohol consumption (moderate: HR = 0.83; heavy: HR = 0.74) were associated with a lower risk of PD. Conversely, diabetes mellitus, especially with a duration ≥ 5 years, was associated with increased PD risk (HR = 1.38). Conclusions: These findings suggest that several VRFs are associated with subsequent PD risk in stroke survivors. Further studies are warranted to determine whether modification of these risk factors influences the development of PD.