Risk of myocardial infarction in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background and purpose Previous studies investigating cardiovascular disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) showed heterogeneous results regarding whether there is a higher or lower risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in these patients compared to the general population. Because of the inconsistency in findings, herein the aim was to perform a systematic review and meta‐analysis to investigate the risk of MI in patients with PD. Methods A comprehensive literature search was performed using four databases, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase, in June 2022. Peer‐reviewed observational studies comprising case–controls, cohort, cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies that reported MI in the PD population were included. Results After the screening, 20 studies with a total of 80,441 patients with PD and 802,857 controls were included in our qualitative and quantitative synthesis. The pooled estimated odds ratio for MI in PD patients compared to controls was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56–1.05) which indicates that there is no association. The pooled prevalence of MI was 5% (95% CI 3%–7%) with a range of 1%–20% amongst patients with PD. The men (6%, 95% CI 1%–13%) and women (6%, 95% CI 1%–14%, Q = 29.27, I 2 = 98.50%, p < 0.001) had similar MI prevalence. Conclusion This comprehensive systematic review and meta‐analysis provide compelling evidence that PD is associated with a reduced risk of MI. Whilst the exact mechanism underlying this association remains to be fully elucidated, it is clear that certain risk factors for cardiac events appear to be less present in PD patients, which may serve as a protective factor. However, given the reports of increased risk for cerebrovascular events in PD patients, it is possible that the major risk factors for MI and cardiovascular accidents in this population differ. These findings have important implications for clinical management and further research in this area is warranted.