A study suggests that residing within a mile of a golf course could increase your risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD).
US researchers from Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona published a population-based case-control study in May 2025 to find out if there was a link between increased Parkinson's disease risk and living near a golf course.
They found that exposure to pesticides used to keep golf courses in perfect condition, potentially through contaminated drinking water or airborne drift, may be causing the disease.
In total, they examined health data from people living near 139 golf courses in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin and found that people who lived within a mile of a golf course had a 126 per cent higher chance of getting Parkinson's than people who lived more than six miles away.
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The study also discovered that the likelihood of developing PD decreased by 13 per cent for every mile away from the greens.
"Individuals living within water service areas with a golf course had nearly double the odds of PD compared with individuals in water service areas without golf courses and 49 per cent greater odds compared with individuals with private wells," the study said.
Pesticides such as paraquat and rotenone have been shown to induce Parkinson-like neurodegeneration, according to the study.
Dr Brittany Krzyzanowski, an assistant professor at Barrow Neurological Institute, claimed the findings suggest that pesticides applied to golf courses may play a role in the incidence of Parkinson’s disease for nearby residents.
She added: “Public health policies to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination and airborne exposure from pesticides on golf courses may help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease in nearby neighbourhoods.”
Meanwhile, in the UK and the EU, the use of pesticides is strictly controlled.
Dr Katherine Fletcher, the Research Lead at Parkinson's UK, says paraquat is banned due to concerns about its wider health and environmental impacts.
She also claimed the risk for most people in the UK is therefore “extremely low”, adding: "Parkinson's is complex. The causes of the condition are unclear and are likely to involve both genetic and environmental factors.
"Many studies have investigated whether pesticides increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s in different populations around the world.
“The results have been varied, but overall suggest that exposure to pesticides may increase the risk of the condition. However, the evidence is not strong enough to show that pesticide exposure directly causes Parkinson’s."
She added: “This study supports the association between pesticides and Parkinson's. However, it's quite reductive and doesn't take into account how someone might have been exposed to pesticides at their workplace or whether they have a genetic link to the condition.”
Dr Oscar Duke responds to 'Proximity to Golf Courses and Risk of Parkinson Disease' study
On an episode of BBC Morning Live last year, hosts Rav Wilding and Michelle Ackerley spoke to Dr Oscar Duke about the findings.
Duke advised viewers in the UK not to panic as the study focused mainly on golf courses in the United States.
"In America, they do use different pesticides, and they are allowed to have more chemicals within the pesticides than some of the UK pesticides, so it might not be directly comparable to here anyway." he said.
"But, they found, though, that if you live within a mile of a golf course, you are 126% more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson's than if you live six miles or more away from a golf course.
"Now, of course, that is a worrying statistic, but you've got to think about a lot of the different factors that impact this."
Duke also provided important context about the study's participants, claiming many of them had recently moved near golf courses, saying: "Now, a lot of these people had only recently moved near a golf course, so they hadn't been there perhaps when they first started developing Parkinson's disease, so that can give us reassurance."
He added: "If you are a fan of golf at the moment, you don't need to panic."-
Topics: Golf
Jack Kenmare