title: Height in relation to dementia death: individual participant meta-analysis of 18 UK prospective cohort studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  That risk factors measured in middle age may not fully explain future dementia risk implicates exposures acting earlier in life. Height may capture early-life illness, adversity, nutrition and psychosocial stress.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the little-explored association between height and dementia death. Method Individual participant meta-analysis using 18 prospective general population cohort studies with identical methodologies (1994-2008; n = 181 800).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean follow-up of 9.8 years gave rise to 426 and 667 dementia deaths in men and women respectively. The mean heights were 174.4 cm (s.d. = 7.3) for men and 161.0 cm (s.d. = 6.8) for women. In analyses taking into account multiple covariates, increasing height was related to lower rates of death from dementia in a dose-response pattern (P ⩽ 0.01 for trend). There was evidence of a differential effect by gender (P = 0.016 for interaction). Thus, the association observed in men (hazard ratio per s.d. decrease in height 1.24, 95% CI 1.11-1.39) was markedly stronger than that apparent in women (HR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.24).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early-life circumstances, indexed by adult height, may influence later dementia risk.
authors.affiliation: Tom C. Russ, PhD, MRCPsych, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, National Health Service (NHS) Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, and Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh; Mika Kivimäki, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London; John M. Starr, PhD, FRCPEd, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, NHS Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, Charles Perkins Centre, and Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia; G. David Batty, PhD, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Tom C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Russ
authors.affiliation: Tom C. Russ, PhD, MRCPsych, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, National Health Service (NHS) Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, and Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh; Mika Kivimäki, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London; John M. Starr, PhD, FRCPEd, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, NHS Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, Charles Perkins Centre, and Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia; G. David Batty, PhD, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
authors.affiliation: Tom C. Russ, PhD, MRCPsych, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, National Health Service (NHS) Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, and Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh; Mika Kivimäki, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London; John M. Starr, PhD, FRCPEd, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, NHS Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, Charles Perkins Centre, and Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia; G. David Batty, PhD, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.affiliation: Tom C. Russ, PhD, MRCPsych, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, National Health Service (NHS) Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, and Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh; Mika Kivimäki, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London; John M. Starr, PhD, FRCPEd, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, NHS Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, Charles Perkins Centre, and Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia; G. David Batty, PhD, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stamatakis
authors.affiliation: Tom C. Russ, PhD, MRCPsych, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, National Health Service (NHS) Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, and Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh; Mika Kivimäki, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London; John M. Starr, PhD, FRCPEd, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network, NHS Scotland, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, Charles Perkins Centre, and Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia; G. David Batty, PhD, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: G David
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Batty
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D003704:Dementia / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology