Title | Knee height and arm span: a reflection of early life environment and risk of dementia. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2008 |
Authors | Huang, TL, Carlson, MC, Fitzpatrick, AL, Kuller, LH, Fried, LP, Zandi, PP |
Journal | Neurology |
Volume | 70 |
Issue | 19 Pt 2 |
Pagination | 1818-26 |
Date Published | 2008 May 06 |
ISSN | 1526-632X |
Keywords | Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Anthropometry, Arm, Body Height, Brain, Child, Child, Preschool, Dementia, Environment, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Knee, Male, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Sex Characteristics, Skeleton |
Abstract | <p><b>OBJECTIVES: </b>To determine if anthropometric measures, as markers of early life environment, are associated with risk of dementia, Alzheimer disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD).</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>A total of 2,798 subjects were followed as part of the Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study for an average of 5.4 years; 480 developed dementia. Knee height was measured 3 years prior to and arm span 4 years after the study's baseline. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine their association with subsequent risk of dementia, AD, and VaD.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Among women, greater knee height and arm span were associated with lower risks of dementia (knee height: HR per 1-inch increase 0.84; 95% CI 0.74-0.96; arm span: HR per 1-inch increase 0.93; 95% CI 0.88-0.98) and AD (knee height: HR per 1-inch increase 0.78; 95% CI 0.65-0.93; arm span: HR per 1-inch increase 0.90; 95% CI 0.85-0.96). Women in the lowest quartile of arm span had approximately 1.5 times greater risk of dementia (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.03-2.05) and AD (HR 1.70; 95% CI 1.10-2.62) than other women. Among men, only arm span was associated with lower risks of dementia (HR per 1-inch increase 0.94; 95% CI 0.89-1.00) and AD (HR per 1-inch increase 0.92; 95% CI 0.84-1.00). For each gender, knee height was not associated with VaD, while arm span was associated with a nonsignificant lower risk of VaD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Our findings with knee height and arm span are consistent with previous reports and suggest early life environment may play an important role in the determination of future dementia risk.</p> |
DOI | 10.1212/01.wnl.0000311444.20490.98 |
Alternate Journal | Neurology |
PubMed ID | 18458216 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC: N/A |
Grant List | AG15928 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States N01 HC-15103 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-35129 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85079 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85080 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85081 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85082 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85083 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85084 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85085 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-85086 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States T32 DK75610 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States T32-MH14592 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States |