Association of taller stature with lower cardiovascular disease mortality in Asian people: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Adult height can serve as a disease marker. While taller stature has been reported to be linked to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), an influence of the height on CVD is not fully understood in specific populations of Asia, which has a lower incidence of CVD and lower stature than Western populations. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review using original articles of prospective cohort studies published in English, via the PubMed database, on the relationship between the height and mortality of CVD, including cerebrovascular disease, in Asian people. RESULTS: We selected four studies on heart/coronary disease and five studies on cerebrovascular disease. Regarding heart/coronary disease, two studies showed that taller stature was associated with a decreased mortality of heart disease in men or cardiovascular disease in women. The hazard ratios of other studies had not shown a clear significance but a decreased direction of taller stature to the mortality. Regarding cerebrovascular disease, most studies showed that taller stature was associated with a decreased mortality of total cerebrovascular diseases or stroke. In two studies, taller stature showed a decreased mortality of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, adult height may be inversely predictive to the mortality of CVD, in particular cerebrovascular disease, in Asian people. While this seems to be a similar trend to that of Westerns, further studies are warranted.