Frequent falls may be an early sign of Parkinson's disease, new research suggest. In fact, Swedish researchers found individuals who developed the brain disorder tended to have a higher-than-normal risk of injurious fall and hip fractures up to 26 years before a diagnosis.

The findings, by researchers at Umeå University in Sweden, offer new clues to those most likely to develop Parkinson’s and may allow for doctors to treat it early — when medication is most effective at slowing the disease’s progression.

Researchers, who published their findings in the Public Library of Science journal PLOS Medicine, said fall-related injuries may partly be explained by reduced balance, which could be a significant early sign of illness.

The study also found men with Parkinson's disease tended to had low muscle strength in their arms in early adulthood, which may also account for an increased risk of injurious falls and hip fractures.

"We asked ourselves if fall-related injuries at an early age could be a warning sign of the deteriorating balance that is characteristic to Parkinson's disease," said Helena Nyström doctoral student at the Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation and co-author of the article.

"By investigating health data from registers, we could see a correlation between individuals who were later diagnosed with Parkinson's and who were more often involved in injurious falls. It was also shown that the higher risk of hip fractures could be measured more than two decades before the diagnosis."