Objective:

This study aimed to examine the independent and joint associations of physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep with Parkinson’s disease (PD) risk.

Background:

Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep duration are associated with brain health. Those effects on developing PD are poorly investigated. Whether the effects of sedentary behavior and sleep in PD can be ameliorated by physical activity remain unknown.

Design/Methods:

A total of 401,697 participants without PD were included in the analyses from UK Biobank with a median follow-up of 7·7 years. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association of three modifiable behaviors, individually and jointly, with PD risk. Models fitted with restricted cubic spline were conducted to test for linear and nonlinear shapes of each association.

Results:

Our analytic sample included 401,697 participants with 3030 identified cases of PD (mean age, 63 years; 62.9% male). PD risk was 18% lower in high total physical activity group (95% CI, 0.75-0.9), 22% lower in high leisure time physical activity (LTPA) group (0.71-0.86) compared with the low level and 14% higher in high sleep group (1.05-1.24) compared to 7h/day. Total sedentary time was irrelevant with PD risk, while high TV viewing showed 12% increase of PD risk compared to low group (1.02-1.22). Low computer use (0h/day) was associated with 14% higher risk compared to 1h/day use (1.04-1.26). Those associations are independent. A combination of 7h/day sleep, moderate-to-high computer use, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity of LTPA showed lowest PD risk (HR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.57-0.85).

Conclusions:

Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep were associated with PD risks separately. Our findings emphasize the possibility for changing these three daily activities concurrently to lower the risk of PD, suggesting better lifestyle for PD prevention.