A Role of ß2-Adrenoreceptor Agonists Related to the Development of Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Several studies have suggested the potential protective role of ß2-adrenoreceptor agonist (ß2AR-agonist) on the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, those could not reflect a different epidemiologic background in eastern countries. We explored ß2AR-agonist's effect on PD development by controlling for smoking. Materials and Methods: We used the Korean national sample cohort data (from 2002 to 2013) containing 1,025,340 participants (2.2% of the whole population). The subjects over 60 years were included. PD was defined based on the ICD-10 code, which should be diagnosed by neurologists. Atypical Parkinsonisms or ataxic disorders were excluded. We made Set 1 (from 2003 to 2007) and Set 2 (from 2003 to 2008) based on the exposure period for the sensitivity analysis. We observed whether PD had developed during the follow-up periods in each subset. Results: The PD (Set 1, n = 742; Set 2, n = 699) and non-PD group (Set 1, n = 57,645; Set 2, n = 66,586) were collected. Old age, Medicaid, and asthma were risk factors, whereas smoking was a significant protective factor for PD development. The proportion of ß2AR-agonist use was significantly higher in the PD group than in the non-PD group (Set 1, 3.6% vs. 2.4%; Set 2, 4.1% vs. 2.6%). ß2AR-agonist use still was a risk factor in developing PD from the multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: ß2-AR-agonist looked like a risk factor rather than a protective factor for PD development. Well-controlled studies reflecting various epidemiologic backgrounds are required to confirm the role of ß2AR-agonist.

Spillover effects of retirement: Does health vulnerability matter?

The current literature investigating the impact of retirement and the associated spousal spillover effects overlooks the unintended effects of retirement on spouses in vulnerable health, namely spouses with long-term health conditions (LTHCs). In this paper, we fill this gap in the literature and investigate the impact of an individual's retirement on their partner's health outcomes when their partner has LTHCs. Given the inherent identification challenges associated with entry into retirement, we use the pension-qualifying age in Australia as an instrument. Based on data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, we find that the husband's retirement has a positive impact on the wife's quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and other physical and mental health outcomes. We also identify redistribution of domestic workload as a key transmission mechanism of the spousal spillover effects. Women with LTHCs will see their QALY and health improve only if their husband devotes more time to domestic tasks after retirement.