OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the tau H1 haplotype is a genetic risk factor in Parkinson's disease and to report a meta-analysis on all previously published data METHODS: and results: In a sample of 580 patients with Parkinson's disease and 513 controls there was an increased risk of Parkinson's disease for both the tau H1 haplotype (p<or=0.0064; odds ratio (OR) 1.34 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04 to 1.72)) and the H1H1 genotype (p<or=0.0047; OR 1.42 (1.1 to 1.83)). Under a fixed effect model, the summary OR for this showed that individuals homozygous for the H1 allele were 1.57 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than individuals carrying the H2 allele (95% CI 1.33 to 1.85; p<0.00001). The population attributable risk for the tau variant, for the main comparison of H1H1 against H2 carriers, was 24.8% for all studies combined. CONCLUSIONS: Homozygosity for the tau H1 is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. This adds to the growing body of evidence that common genetic variation contributes to the pathogenesis of this disorder.