(ORDO NEWS) — A person’s height can influence a lot of things about him. One study has shown that it can be used to determine how long a person lives and which diseases they are at greater risk of.
A study by the University of Tampere in Finland found that short people have an increased risk of heart disease.
For the purposes of the study, short men were defined as those who were less than five feet five inches tall, while short women were defined as those who were less than five feet tall.
In contrast, men were considered tall if they were five feet nine and a half inches (175 cm) or taller, and women were considered tall if they were five feet five and a half (165 cm) inches tall.
After analyzing 52 studies, Tuula Paajanen, MD, concluded that short people in the population are one and a half times more likely to develop the disease due to their height.
In addition, short men are 37% more likely to die from any cause compared to taller men, while short women are 55% more likely to die from any cause.
When it comes to heart failure, short people are 52% more likely to have a heart attack than tall people.
While this data may be troubling, there are a couple of caveats. At the time of the study, the scientists could not explain why shorter people have an increased risk. Paayanen suggested that their hypothesis was that “shorter people will have narrower arteries.”
In addition, height is not the only factor that increases or decreases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
A short person who eats properly and exercises is no more likely to have a heart attack than an inactive, tall, overweight person.
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