Potential Protective Link Between Type I Diabetes and Parkinson's Disease Risk and Progression

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies suggested an association between Parkinson's disease (PD) and type 2 diabetes, but less is known about type 1 diabetes (T1D) and PD. Objective: This study sought to explore the association between T1D and PD. Methods: We used Mendelian randomization, linkage disequilibrium score regression, and multi-tissue transcriptome-wide analysis to examine the association between PD and T1D. Results: Mendelian randomization showed a potentially protective role of T1D for PD risk (odds ratio [OR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94–0.99; P = 0.039), as well as motor (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88–0.99; P = 0.044) and cognitive progression (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.08–2.09; P = 0.015). We further found a negative genetic correlation between T1D and PD (rg = −0.17; P = 0.016), and we identified eight genes in cross-tissue transcriptome-wide analysis that were associated with both traits. Conclusions: Our results suggest a potential genetic link between T1D and PD risk and progression. Larger comprehensive epidemiological and genetic studies are required to validate our findings. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.