The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε2 allele has been associated with both Parkinson’s disease (PD) and lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The study is to test the hypothesis that lower LDL-C may be associated with PD. This case-control study used fasting lipid profiles obtained from 124 PD cases and 110 controls, the PD cases recruited from consecutive cases presenting at our tertiary Movement Disorder Clinic, and controls recruited from the spouse populations of the same clinic. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated from unconditional logistic regressions, adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, and use of cholesterol-lowering agents. Lower LDL-C concentrations were associated with a higher prevalence of PD. Compared with participants with the highest LDL-C (≥139 mg/dL), the OR was 2.2 (95% CI 0.9–5.1) for participants with LDL-C of 115–138, 3.5 (95% CI 1.6–8.1) for LDL-C of 93–114, and 2.6 (95% CI 1.1 – 5.9) for LDL-C ≤ 92. Interestingly, use of cholesterol lowering drugs or just statins was related to lower PD prevalence. Our data provide preliminary evidence that low LDL-C may be associated with higher occurrence of PD, and/or that statin use may lower PD occurrence; either of which findings warrant further investigations
