Finland Research Team Relates Height to Potential Heart Disease

Puula Paajanen led a team of Finnish researchers to study a relationship between a person’s height and heart disease. Three million people were included in the study as the team examined previous results from fifty-two similar studies. Men under five feet one inch height and women under five feet height have a fifty percent increase risk for heart disease compared to men over five feet eight inch height and women over five feet six inch height. Results were published recently in the European Heart Journal.

The reason for this increase could not be determined by the study but may include a number of different factors. One hypothesis is that people with lower height may also have smaller arteries that become clogged earlier in life. Clogged arteries are a major cause of heart disease. Lifestyle and other factors may contribute to the results in the study. Improper diet and obesity have often been attributed as causes of heart disease. Advanced age results in a progressive loss of height and could be a contributing factor. Researchers did not rule out a relationship between heredity and genetic factors that determine a person’s height.

Similar studies have been conducted during the past sixty years resulting in nearly two thousand reports. This is the first study conducted that clearly shows a relationship between height and heart disease. People with a shorter stature should note that a lifestyle, that includes proper nutrition and helps to controls obesity are major factors that prevent heart disease not height.