EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, October 28, 2026
Living near water-pollution sources associated with rare brain disorder
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2026
Highlights:
- People who live near industrial facilities that pollute the water supply may be more likely to develop a rare movement disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).
- PSP is part of a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as atypical parkinsonism.
- The study does not prove that proximity to facilities that emit water pollution causes progressive supranuclear palsy; it only shows an association.
- People who lived within about three miles of a facility that emitted pollutants including pesticides, other organic and inorganic pollutants and heavy metals were more likely to develop PSP than people who did not live as close to such facilities.
- The facilities included wastewater treatment plants, intensive aquaculture, chemical plants and thermal power stations.
MINNEAPOLIS — People who live near industrial
facilities that pollute the water supply may be more likely to develop a rare
movement disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), according to a study published October 28, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
PSP is part of a group of neurodegenerative diseases known
as atypical parkinsonism. PSP shares some symptoms with Parkinson’s disease,
but it usually progresses much faster and responds differently to treatment.
The study does not prove that proximity to facilities that
emit water pollution causes progressive supranuclear palsy; it only shows an
association.
“These results suggest that environmental water pollutants
potentially play a role in the development of progressive supranuclear palsy,”
said study author Charlie Weige Zhao, MD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston.
“Further studies are needed to confirm these findings, but this is a step
forward in understanding what raises a person’s chance of getting PSP.”
People who lived within about three miles of a facility that
emitted pollutants including pesticides, other organic and inorganic pollutants
and heavy metals were more likely to develop PSP than people who did not live
as close to such facilities. The facilities included wastewater treatment
plants, intensive aquaculture, chemical plants and thermal power stations.
For the study, researchers recruited more than 500,000
people from across the United Kingdom who were then followed for up to 25
years. During that time, 221 people developed PSP. The people with PSP were each
matched by age and sex to 10 people who did not have PSP.
Using people’s home addresses in 2007, researchers looked at
how close they lived to industrial facilities reporting pollutants. There were
six types of pollutants: heavy metals, chlorinated solvents, persistent organic
pollutants, pesticides, other organic pollutants and other inorganic
pollutants. People who had lived at their address for less than a year were not
included in the study.
Approximately one-third of the people who developed PSP lived within about three miles of an industrial facility, compared to about one-quarter of people who did not develop PSP.
- A total of 16% of people with PSP lived near a pesticide-polluting facility compared to 11% of those without PSP.
- And 38% of people with PSP lived near a facility with inorganic pollutants compared to 28% of those who did not develop PSP.
- For organic pollutants, the numbers were 36% and 28%. And for heavy metals, the numbers were 38% and 31%.
After adjusting for factors such as age, sex and education
level, researchers found that people living near facilities emitting pesticides
such as atrazine, simazine and diuron were 66% more likely to develop PSP than
those who did not live near the facilities. People living near facilities
emitting inorganic pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrogen and fluorides were 60%
more likely to develop PSP.
People living near facilities emitting organic pollutants
such as benzene, ethyl benzene and toluene were 52% more likely to develop PSP.
And those living near facilities emitting heavy metals such as lead, mercury
and cadmium were 38% more likely to develop PSP.
Researchers found no association between chlorinated
solvents and persistent organic pollutants and PSP.
“We also found some evidence that the risk of PSP decreased in
proportion to how far away people lived from the facility as the distance
increased to up to about six miles,” Zhao said. “There is also evidence that
the length of time people lived near the polluting facilities played a role in
their risk of PSP.”
Zhao emphasized that the overall risk of developing PSP was
low, no matter where people lived.
A limitation of the study was that information on
participants’ job histories was not fully available, so the study did not analyze
exposure to pollutants through work. Also, many industrial facilities emitted
more than one type of pollutant, so it was not possible to isolate the effects
of any single pollutant type.
The study was supported by the
Dolce Family Fund for PSP research at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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