[The Epoch Times, June 5, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Chen Juncun reported) Everyone’s body is different in fat and thin, with different heights, but they will all get sick. And a US study found that when people get taller, their risk of developing certain diseases also increases.
The study, conducted by the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, showed that taller people were more likely to develop peripheral neuropathy and infections of the skin and bones.
However, taller people had a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Researchers previously knew that height has always been a factor in many common diseases, but it was difficult for them to conclude that being tall or short increases risk, or that factors that affect height, such as nutrition or socioeconomic status, are the real cause. .
In the new study, the researchers removed these confounding factors and only explored the relationship between different diseases and height, as well as the relationship between genes and height.
The researchers used genetic and health data from a large pool of veterans from more than 200,000 white adults and more than 50,000 black adults.
The study looked at more than 1,000 conditions and characteristics, making it the largest study of height and disease to date.
The study confirms previous, smaller findings that taller people suffer from atrial fibrillation and venous The risk of varicose veins is higher, but the risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol is lower.
The study also found a new association, that taller people have a higher risk of peripheral neuropathy and skin and bone infections. Peripheral neuropathy is caused by damage to the nerves in the extremities.
The researchers concluded that height may be a risk factor for several diseases that are common in adults but have been previously overlooked. But they also say more research is needed in the future to confirm some of the associations found in this study. Future studies would benefit greatly if larger and more diverse international population data were obtained.
Editor in charge: Jasmine
