IJE Advance Access first published online on August 24, 2006
This version published online on October 5, 2006
International Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/ije/dyl184
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 International Centre for Health and Society, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Background Previous studies have suggested that shorter leg length, not trunk length, may explain the inverse association between height and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. However, investigation of the importance of birth weight for these associations has been limited. This study examines associations of measures of stature and birth weight with CHD risk factors (measures of blood pressure and lipids, 2 h glucose, waist-hip ratio and fibrinogen) and incident non-fatal coronary events in middle age. Methods Data were derived mostly from the Phase 5 (1997-99) clinical screening of the Whitehall II study of British civil servants. The main cross-sectional analyses included 1084 women and 2290 men with complete data. Results In women total height and leg length were the measures that tended to be most strongly associated with CHD risk factors, while in men leg length demonstrated the closest associations. Although associations between trunk length and CHD risk factors were weaker, trunk length was the component of height that appeared to be most closely associated with coronary events. Associations between birth weight and CHD risk factors and coronary events were generally weaker than for any measure of stature. Adjustment for birth weight had little effect on associations between components of stature and CHD risk factors or events. Conclusion Findings from this relatively privileged cohort confirmed that shorter leg length underlies the inverse association between height and CHD risk factors in middle-aged women and men. Furthermore, in this study population shorter trunk length was more closely associated with incident, non-fatal coronary events.
Accepted July 20, 2006
Original paper
Birth weight, components of height and coronary heart disease: evidence from the Whitehall II study
Jane E Ferrie 1 *, Claudia Langenberg 1, Martin J Shipley 1, and Michael G Marmot 1
Jane E Ferrie, E-mail: j.ferrie{at}public-health.ucl.ac.uk
Abstract
The originally published version of this article was incorrect. An erroneous clause was included in sentence three of the 'Study sample and statistical analysis' section. This does not affect the analysis or findings of the original paper. The author apologizes for this error.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Sabia, M. Kivimaki, M. J Shipley, M. G Marmot, and A. Singh-Manoux Body mass index over the adult life course and cognition in late midlife: the Whitehall II Cohort Study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, February 1, 2009; 89(2): 601 - 607. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Sabia, M. Marmot, C. Dufouil, and A. Singh-Manoux Smoking History and Cognitive Function in Middle Age From the Whitehall II Study Arch Intern Med, June 9, 2008; 168(11): 1165 - 1173. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Bogin and M. I. Varela-Silva Fatness biases the use of estimated leg length as an epidemiological marker for adults in the NHANES III sample Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2008; 37(1): 201 - 209. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|