title: Is height associated with cardiovascular risk in Chinese adults?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Better childhood conditions, proxied by greater height, are usually protective against ischemic heart disease in western countries. These relations are less evident in other settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the relation of height to the metabolic syndrome and its components in a rapidly developed Asian population using a representative, cross-sectional Hong Kong Chinese sample of 2860 adults from 1994 to 1996.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Height was inversely associated with increased blood pressure (odds ratio = 0.74; 95% confidence interval = 0.58-0.94) and raised fasting plasma glucose (0.71; 0.55-0.91), but only after adjustment for central obesity. Central obesity was also positively associated with height (2.09; 1.67-2.62) for tallest compared with shortest tertile, confounding these relationships. The association between height and central obesity was much stronger in men than in women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relation of height to cardiovascular risk may relate to a society's history and stage of socioeconomic development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: C Mary
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Schooling
authors.forename: G Neil
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Gabriel M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Sai Yin
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Edward D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Janus
authors.forename: Tai Hing
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D001786:Blood Glucose; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D001827:Body Height; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL