BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that shorter leg length, not trunk length, may explain the inverse association between height and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. However, investigation of the importance of birth weight for these associations has been limited. This study examines associations of measures of stature and birth weight with CHD risk factors (measures of blood pressure and lipids, 2 h glucose, waist-hip ratio and fibrinogen) and incident non-fatal coronary events in middle age. METHODS: Data were derived mostly from the Phase 5 (1997-99) clinical screening of the Whitehall II study of British civil servants. The main cross-sectional analyses included 1084 women and 2290 men with complete data. RESULTS: In women total height and leg length were the measures that tended to be most strongly associated with CHD risk factors, while in men leg length demonstrated the closest associations. Although associations between trunk length and CHD risk factors were weaker, trunk length was the component of height that appeared to be most closely associated with coronary events. Associations between birth weight and CHD risk factors and coronary events were generally weaker than for any measure of stature. Adjustment for birth weight had little effect on associations between components of stature and CHD risk factors or events. CONCLUSION: Findings from this relatively privileged cohort confirmed that shorter leg length underlies the inverse association between height and CHD risk factors in middle-aged women and men. Furthermore, in this study population shorter trunk length was more closely associated with incident, non-fatal coronary events.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that shorter leg length, not trunk length, may explain the inverse association between height and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. However, investigation of the importance of birth weight for these associations has been limited. This study examines associations of measures of stature and birth weight with CHD risk factors (measures of blood pressure and lipids, 2 h glucose, waist-hip ratio and fibrinogen) and incident non-fatal coronary events in middle age. METHODS: Data were derived mostly from the Phase 5 (1997-99) clinical screening of the Whitehall II study of British civil servants. The main cross-sectional analyses included 1084 women and 2290 men with complete data. RESULTS: In women total height and leg length were the measures that tended to be most strongly associated with CHD risk factors, while in men leg length demonstrated the closest associations. Although associations between trunk length and CHD risk factors were weaker, trunk length was the component of height that appeared to be most closely associated with coronary events. Associations between birth weight and CHD risk factors and coronary events were generally weaker than for any measure of stature. Adjustment for birth weight had little effect on associations between components of stature and CHD risk factors or events. CONCLUSION: Findings from this relatively privileged cohort confirmed that shorter leg length underlies the inverse association between height and CHD risk factors in middle-aged women and men. Furthermore, in this study population shorter trunk length was more closely associated with incident, non-fatal coronary events.
Authors: Dayse Rodrigues de Sousa Andrade; Lidyane V Camelo; Rodrigo Citton P Dos Reis; Itamar S Santos; Antonio Luiz Ribeiro; Luana Giatti; Sandhi Maria Barreto Journal: Int J Public Health Date: 2016-12-02 Impact factor: 3.380
Authors: Séverine Sabia; Aline Dugravot; Mika Kivimaki; Eric Brunner; Martin J Shipley; Archana Singh-Manoux Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2011-11-28 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Séverine Sabia; Mika Kivimaki; Martin J Shipley; Michael G Marmot; Archana Singh-Manoux Journal: Am J Clin Nutr Date: 2008-12-10 Impact factor: 7.045
Authors: Sanjay Shete; Fay J Hosking; Lindsay B Robertson; Sara E Dobbins; Marc Sanson; Beatrice Malmer; Matthias Simon; Yannick Marie; Blandine Boisselier; Jean-Yves Delattre; Khe Hoang-Xuan; Soufiane El Hallani; Ahmed Idbaih; Diana Zelenika; Ulrika Andersson; Roger Henriksson; A Tommy Bergenheim; Maria Feychting; Stefan Lönn; Anders Ahlbom; Johannes Schramm; Michael Linnebank; Kari Hemminki; Rajiv Kumar; Sarah J Hepworth; Amy Price; Georgina Armstrong; Yanhong Liu; Xiangjun Gu; Robert Yu; Ching Lau; Minouk Schoemaker; Kenneth Muir; Anthony Swerdlow; Mark Lathrop; Melissa Bondy; Richard S Houlston Journal: Nat Genet Date: 2009-07-05 Impact factor: 38.330