Midlife shrinkage linked to increased risk of strokes
In a groundbreaking study, a group of Swedish researchers delved into the link between mid-life height loss and heart disease risk in women. The study, which involved monitoring the height of over 2,400 women between the ages of 30 and 60, and again 10 to 13 years later, has unveiled a striking association between height loss and heart-related death.
The findings reveal that women who had experienced significant height loss had a higher risk of heart-related death. Each centimeter of height loss was associated with a 14 to 21 percent greater odds of death from any cause. Women who lost more than 2 cm in height had a whopping 71 percent greater chance of dying from all other causes, with death from stroke being the major contributor to the increased risk.
The process of height loss during mid-life is often due to vertebral compression fractures or spinal disc degeneration linked to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis-related height loss is a marker of bone fragility, which has been found to correlate with a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. This relationship may be partly due to shared risk factors such as inflammation, hormonal changes, and aging.
Arterial stiffness, a key predictor of cardiovascular risk, has been shown to increase in women with elevated blood pressure in early midlife. Women with elevated blood pressure or hypertension at age 42 had significantly higher odds of increased arterial stiffness 27 years later. Increased arterial stiffness contributes to cardiovascular events and may also affect spinal health indirectly, contributing to height loss through vertebral changes.
While the study does not directly link height loss with heart disease risk, the association is supported by the fact that mid-life height loss reflects underlying aging and degenerative processes, including osteoporosis and arterial changes that increase cardiovascular risk in women. Thus, height loss in women could serve as a clinical indicator to assess cardiovascular risk alongside other established factors like blood pressure.
Interestingly, women tend to experience more height loss with age compared to men. On average, women lost just 0.8 cm in height, but some participants shrank by up to 14 cm in just over a decade. However, the researchers found that women who participated in regular physical activity experienced less height loss and a lower risk of death from heart disease than the women who lost more inches over time.
The answer to staving off mid-life shrinkage and lowering cardiovascular risk is exercise. Regular physical activity not only helps maintain a healthy weight but also strengthens bones and improves cardiovascular health.
In conclusion, mid-life height loss in women may signal increased risk for heart disease through its connection to arterial stiffness and osteoporosis, both of which elevate cardiovascular risk. Monitoring height changes alongside cardiovascular health markers could help improve early detection and prevention strategies for heart disease in women.
[1] Source: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Volume 6, Issue 3, March 2018, Pages 215–223
- Science has revealed a connection between height loss in mid-life women and an increased risk of heart-related death, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
- regular fitness-and-exercise can help women maintain their height and reduce their risk of heart disease, as found in the study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
- Scientific evidence suggests that height loss during mid-life in women could indicate a higher risk of mental-health problems, as it reflects underlying aging and degenerative processes that increase cardiovascular risk, according to the study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
