Tuesday 12th December 2006
It is a scientifically proven fact that we loose height with age. But researchers from the UK have now proved that height loss is also associated with an increased risk of heart attack and death. Researchers have found that men who lose 3cm or more of height as they age are more prone to heart attacks.
4,200 men were covered under the study that was part of the British Regional Heart Study and the results of which are published in the latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The men were enrolled for the study between 1978 and 1980 and then followed up 20 years later when they were in their 60s and 70s.
In addition to height loss, various other factors that cause heart disease and poor health were also taken into account. It was found that men who lost 3cm in height had a 64% higher risk of death than those who lost less than 1cm.
The subjects lost an average of 1.67cm of height over the 20-year study period. However 1,400 of the men lost over 2cm during this period. Among these men there were several deaths due to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease or other non-cancer diseases.
Analysis indicated height loss increased the risk of coronary events like heart attacks by 42%, even in men without any history of cardiovascular disease. While it is still unclear how height loss increases the risk of death and heart attacks, the researchers believe osteoporosis might be involved. Osteoporosis is a disease characterised by loss of bone mass due to age and is known to increase the risk of death.
But according to study leader Dr. Goya Wannamethee, Reader in Epidemiology at the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, osteoporosis is associated with more severe height loss of around 6cm.
?It?s been well established that shortness is associated with cardiovascular disease, so we were interested to see whether height loss itself could influence mortality,? she said. ?It?s another indicator of poor health,? she concluded. ?Even fairly benign height loss.?
Dr. Goya believes it is possible to explain only some height loss through loss of muscle mass. So she advises men and women to stay as active as possible into old age. In the researchers? opinion the possibility of an underlying mechanism explaining both bone loss and height loss and coronary heart disease and other diseases can?t be ignored.
June Davison, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said, ?This study was set up to help us understand why coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke rates vary considerably across the UK. The results of this study are interesting.
We don?t know why height loss seems to be linked with an increased risk of CHD. However, it gives us an interesting starting point that could be explored with further research, helping us to identify those at greatest risk.?
