Parkinson's disease in diphenyl-exposed workers--a causal association?

We report a cluster of five cases of Parkinson's disease (PD) among paper mill workers exposed to a fungicide, diphenyl. The cause of PD is still unknown, but epidemiological studies have indicated an elevated risk of developing PD after exposure to pesticides. The five cases of PD were found in a group of 255 diphenyl-exposed workers, and the number of expected cases in the exposed group was estimated to be 0.9, resulting in a relative risk of 5.6 (95% CI 1.8-13). Exposure to diphenyl may have contributed to this PD cluster, but chance is an alternative explanation.