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Smoking, Exhaled Carbon Monoxide, and Risk of Parkinson Disease

JAMA Neurology 10.1001/jamaneurol.2026.3037

September 08, 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT

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This cohort study assesses prospective associations between carbon monoxide exhalation and lower risk of Parkinson disease.

In this nationwide prospective cohort study of 512,701 adults in China, regular smoking was associated with a lower risk of Parkinson disease, and among individuals who never smoked, higher exhaled carbon monoxide levels were also associated with lower Parkinson disease risk. The exhaled carbon monoxide association was not seen for major smoking-related diseases or other neurodegenerative diseases, supporting a potentially specific role in Parkinson disease etiology.

Related: This Original Investigation has an accompanying Editorial.

Media Interviews: Reporters interested in interviewing the corresponding author should contact Lulu Phillips: louise.phillips@ndph.ox.ac.uk

Corresponding Authors: Andri Iona, DPhil (andri.iona@ndph.ox.ac.uk), and Zhengming Chen, DPhil (%09zhengming.chen@ndph.ox.ac.uk& Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.

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