Older people have an increased risk of peripheral neuropathy, as well as skin and bone infections, but a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to the world’s largest study of altitude and disease.
A person’s height increases and decreases the risk of various diseases, according to a study conducted by Sridharan Raghavan of the Rocky Mountains Regional Medical Center in the United States. The results are published in the journal PLOS Genetics.
Height is a factor associated with many common conditions, ranging from heart disease to cancer. But researchers find it difficult to determine whether high or low is what puts people at risk, or whether factors that affect altitude, such as diet and socioeconomic status, are actually to blame.
In the study, researchers seek to eliminate these confusing factors by looking separately at the links between different diseases and a person’s actual height, as well as the links to their predicted height based on their genetics.
The team uses data from the VA Million Veteran program, including genetic and health information from more than 200,000 white adults and more than 50,000 black adults. The study examines more than 1,000 conditions and traits, making it the largest study of altitude and disease to date.
The results confirm previous findings from smaller studies that high is associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation and varicose veins and a lower risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Researchers also found new associations between a higher and higher risk of peripheral neuropathy caused by damage to limb nerves, as well as skin and bone infections such as leg and foot ulcers.
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Researchers now believe that height may be an unrecognized risk factor for several common diseases. However, they warned that more research is needed to clarify some of the findings, and future work will benefit the study of a more diverse international population.
“We have found evidence that adult height can affect more than 100 clinical features, including several conditions associated with poor outcomes and quality of life – peripheral neuropathy, lower limb ulcers and chronic venous insufficiency,” said Raghavan. “We conclude that height may be an unrecognized invariable risk factor for several common adult conditions.”
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