Abstract
Introduction: Adult height is inversely associated with the risk of developing hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. Height has also shown an inverse association with coronary heart disease and cardiovascular mortality, but the relationship between height and subclinical atherosclerosis is unclear. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a marker of atherosclerosis and a strong predictor of cardiovascular events. The relationship between height and CAC has not been well studied. Objective: To test the hypothesis that adult height is inversely associated with CAC. Methods: We studied 3,360 individuals from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study. Adult height was self-reported and CAC was measured by EBCT. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate adjusted prevalence odds ratios across quintiles of height. Results: Mean age of the sample was 54.9 years (SD +/- 12.9) and 57% were women. Baseline characteristics of the participants in sex-specific quintiles are shown in Table 1. After adjusting for age, the prevalence odds ratios for CAC decreased from the lowest quintile to the highest quintile (p-value for trend 0.02). After further adjustment for race, waist circumference, smoking, and field center, height remained inversely associated with CAC (adjusted odds ratios 1.0 [reference], 1.52 [1.13-2.05], 0.98 [0.75-1.28], 0.90 [0.68-1.20], 0.78 [0.58-1.03], p-value for trend <0.01). Additional adjustment for alcohol consumption, exercise, and total cholesterol did not materially change the strength of the association between height and CAC. No interaction was seen for gender or race. Conclusion: Adult height is inversely associated with the presence of CAC in middle-aged men and women.
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