title: Height and health-related quality of life: a nationwide population study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Treatment for short stature in childhood has been recommended with the purpose of improving adult health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, there are only limited data available concerning the consequences of body height for HRQoL in adulthood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to investigate the relationship between body height and HRQoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  This national representative, cross-sectional household survey of the French general noninstitutionalized population included 8857 men and 9248 women, aged 18-50 yr, in 2003.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scores on the eight subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form (SF-36) were the primary outcomes. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the effect of height on HRQoL while controlling for age and various socioeconomic variables and pathological conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Height was found to be a very weak predictor of HRQoL both for men and women. Only heights lower than 149.2 and 136.0 cm and higher than 203.6 and 188.7 cm, in men and women, respectively, were associated with a clinically significant reduction in physical functioning. The effects of body height on other (mental and social) dimensions of HRQoL were negligible or undetectable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Height appears to have minimal consequences for physical functioning and negligible effects on other dimensions of HRQoL. These results contrast with widely popularized stereotypes and common beliefs and should be carefully considered to avoid further stigmatization and unnecessary medical care of individuals who are at the lower end of the growth distribution.
authors: Biostatistics and Epidemiology Unit, Hôtel Dieu, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 1 Place du Parvis Notre Dame, 75004 Paris, France. coste@cochin.univ-paris5.fr
authors: Joël
authors: J
authors: Coste
authors: Jacques
authors: J
authors: Pouchot
authors: Jean-Claude
authors: JC
authors: Carel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D005843:Geography; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011153:Population; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult