To Örebro University

Objective: This study was undertaken to examine the association between montelukast use, beta 2-adrenoreceptor (beta 2AR) agonist use, and later Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods: We ascertained use of beta 2AR agonists (430,885 individuals) and montelukast (23,315 individuals) from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007, and followed 5,186,886 PD-free individuals from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2013 for incident PD diagnosis. We estimated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals using Cox regressions.

Results: We observed 16,383 PD cases during on average 6.1 years of follow-up. Overall, use of beta 2AR agonists and montelukast were not related to PD incidence. A 38% lower PD incidence was noted among high-dose montelukast users when restricted to PD registered as the primary diagnosis.

Interpretation: Overall, our data do not support inverse associations between beta 2AR agonists, montelukast, and PD. The prospect of lower PD incidence with high-dose montelukast exposure warrants further investigation, especially with adjustment for high-quality data on smoking. ANN NEUROL 2023