A large genetic study by the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) has found a person's height may affect their risk for several common health conditions in adulthood. Significant findings include a link between height and lower risk of coronary heart disease, and a link between height and higher risk for peripheral neuropathy and circulatory disorders.
Dr. Sridharan Raghavan from the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, who led the study, described the results as "a significant contribution to understanding how height is related to clinical conditions from an epidemiologic perspective." [...] "The broad scope of our study yielded a catalog of clinical conditions associated with genetically predicted height. In other words, these are conditions for which height might be a risk factor, or protective factor, irrespective of other environmental conditions that also could impact height and health."
[...] Overall, genetically predicted height was linked to both lower and higher disease risk, depending on the condition. Being tall appears to protect people from cardiovascular problems. The study linked being taller to lower risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. But risk of atrial fibrillation was higher in taller participants. These connections have been shown before in previous research.
Conversely, being tall may increase the risk of the majority of non-cardiovascular conditions considered in the study. This was especially true of peripheral neuropathy and circulatory disorders involving the veins.
[...] Taken together, the results suggest that height may be an unrecognized but biologically important and unchangeable risk factor for several common conditions, particularly those that affect the extremities, according to the researchers. It may be useful to consider a person's height when assessing risk and disease surveillance, they say.
Click through to the fine article to see a few other things associated with height.
Journal Reference:
Sridharan Raghavan et al., A multi-population phenome-wide association study of genetically-predicted height in the Million Veteran Program [open], PLOS Genetics, 2022. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010193
(Score: -1, Spam) by HsunTzu on Tuesday June 07 2022, @07:03AM
ἄξιον Ἐφεσίοις ἡβηδὸν ἀπάγξασθαι πᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ἀνήβοις τὴν πόλιν καταλιπεῖν, οἵτινες Ἑρμόδωρον ἄνδρα ἑωυτῶν ὀνήιστον ἐξέβαλον φάντες· ἡμέων μηδὲ εἷς ὀνήιστος ἔστω, εἰ δὲ μή, ἄλλη τε καὶ μετ' ἄλλων
As true as it ever was. Quoth Heraclitus, fragment 114, or DK B121, http://heraclitusfragments.com/files/ge.html [heraclitusfragments.com] .
Heraclitus knew his shit, as he died in it, according to Diogenes Laertius.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday June 07 2022, @07:38AM (4 children)
The harder we hit the floor.
Of course, after all, being farther from the ground means that we have more time to accelerate before we hit making the impact speed faster.
Being 6'11" (2.11m), I know this from personal experience... But you do not want to be under us... Like a large tree when we start to fall you have to get farther away to avoid that.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 07 2022, @08:05AM (2 children)
You're 10 inches taller than me. Showers in old apartments and motels must hit you no higher than your waist. I kneel sometimes to get my head wet. What do you do? Sit in the shower, LOL. Seriously. How can they not put the shower head at least 7 feet up. It's not like the ceiling is that low.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 07 2022, @09:01AM (1 child)
People used to be much shorter, and plumbers were some of the shortest people in society. They were chosen and bred that way because they fit better in the tunnels and catecombs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 07 2022, @12:30PM
IKR, I'm about average height and one of the reasons I never got into showers is that the old house I grew up in had the shower head come out below my arm pits, if I wanted any of it on my head, I'd have had to crouch. It get a new shower head with detachable wand.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 07 2022, @03:00PM
Concussions correlate with height.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by shrewdsheep on Tuesday June 07 2022, @09:52AM
Be made aware that this is a Mendelian Randomization study. The associations implied by this study hinge on several untestable assumptions. That being said, the study is interesting and adds to the understanding of our genetic make-up.
(Score: 3, Funny) by PiMuNu on Tuesday June 07 2022, @11:41AM
...there is a roughly 10^-15 probability that tall white people smoke (fig. 2).
(Score: 2) by datapharmer on Tuesday June 07 2022, @01:36PM
This correlation isn't new - a number of other studies have connected height/size to cancer risk as well, which makes sense for the simple reason that more cells means more opportunities for a mutation. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2018.1743 [royalsocietypublishing.org]
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Tuesday June 07 2022, @02:32PM (1 child)
I don't know what TFA means by "disease surveillance" but the dystopian idea of it has prevented me from participating in the Million Veteran Program, by choice. I just don't trust that my DNA will be used only for the Forces of Good and the Benefit of Others. Am I overly paranoid? I don't know, but right now I am choosing safe over sorry.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday June 07 2022, @03:09PM
I have found that my paranoia is actually not paranoia. In fact, I wasn't paranoid enough. Some call it paranoia. Others call it, being prudent. Do you really need my whole life's history available at the click of a button? If so, why so? In the event that you're not doing work for the CIA/Law Enforcement/etc. Then they are likely hoovering way more data than should be legal. Someone working in a setting that requires security clearance or gives you a position of power over most people. Should have more in depth studies done on their lives.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday June 07 2022, @04:32PM (3 children)
Seems our brains are wired to respect taller people more just because they are taller. Tallness correlated with better nutrition and therefore greater wealth. Note that the US presidential debates have gone to ridiculous lengths to make the candidates seem more equal in height.
A century ago, average height was much less than it is today. Many cars of the 1950s and 1960s are meant for people no taller than about 5'9. 6 foot tall people trying to sit in some of those cars will have their knees by their chins, even with the seat as far back as it will go.
There are various compensations for being short and suffering the unthinking prejudice against the short, without being inflicted with such conditions as dwarfism, that is. I had always thought generally better health was one of the compensations. Less stress on the skeletal structure. Less weight to carry around. I have heard that small dogs live far longer than large dogs. But seems it's much more nuanced. I wouldn't have guessed tall people would have better blood pressure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 07 2022, @06:28PM (1 child)
And yet, we no longer respect the obese.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 07 2022, @06:38PM
It's all about perspective. They're horizontally tall.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 09 2022, @03:18PM
Taller people tend to have longer reach. Longer reach = it's easier for them to punch, stab or kick you first.
Of course if you're much faster than them then that's different...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 08 2022, @05:13AM