The association of childhood height, leg length and other measures of skeletal growth with adult cardiovascular disease

E Whitley, RM Martin, G Davey Smith, JMP Holly, DJ Gunnell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Taller adults have a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and there is some evidence that pre-adolescent exposures, indexed by leg length, underlie this association. Associations with other aspects of skeletal size in childhood have not previously been investigated. Methods: We have examined associations of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity with childhood height, shoulder breadth, leg, trunk and foot length using a cohort of children whose families participated in a 1937–9 survey of diet and health followed up for 59 years. Results: Altogether 2642 traced participants had at least one anthropometric measurement; a subsample (n=1043), completed the Rose angina questionnaire and provided information about doctor-diagnosed ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in 1997–8. Childhood stature was weakly inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality, and leg length was the component with the strongest associations. There was evidence from secondary analyses that childhood anthropometric measurements were inversely related to early (age
Translated title of the contributionThe association of childhood height, leg length and other measures of skeletal growth with adult cardiovascular disease
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)18
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Volume66
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2012

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