LONDON, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Another study has found that exposure to pesticides increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a press report on Wednesday.

    People exposed to low levels of pesticides had a 13 percent higher risk of developing the disease, and those exposed to high levels a 41 percent greater risk, researchers from Aberdeen University found, the daily Times reported.

    The latest study aimed to identify factors that can accelerate or cause the disease. The researchers compared the lifetime experiences of around 1,000 Parkinson's sufferers with some 2,000 unaffected people in Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Romania and Malta.

    The results of this study compound the results of a 2006 study of 147,000 people, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, which also found the incidence of Parkinson's to be slightly higher in people who reported previous exposure to pesticides.

    This study has found that the risk of developing Parkinson's disease increases according to the level of exposure to pesticides.

    "This is highly significant in relation to the long-term exposure of rural residents living near sprayed fields," Georgina Downs of the UK Pesticides Campaign was quoted as saying.

    The study did not establish which pesticides the sufferers had been exposed to, as most of them could not provide such information, according to the report.

    The researchers said the findings reinforced the belief that the disease was caused by more than one factor.

    The European Commission said last year that long-term exposure to pesticides could lead to serious disturbances to the immune system, as well as sexual disorders and cancers.