PEDIATRICS Vol. 102 No. 3 September 1998, pp. 602-609
Height as a Marker of Childhood Development and Late-life Cognitive Function: The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study
Received Jan 12, 1998; accepted Apr 14, 1998.
, ¶,
,, ¶,, ¶,, ¶
From the * Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology,
Department of Health Evaluation Sciences, University of Virginia School
of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia; the National Institute on
Aging, Bethesda, Maryland; the § Department of Veteran's Affairs,
Honolulu, Hawaii; the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, Kuakini Medical
Center, Honolulu, Hawaii; the ¶ Department of Medicine, John A. Burns
School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii; and the
# Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the Department of Preventive
Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Kentucky.
Objective. Growing evidence suggests that structural and functional brain reserves, thought to develop in childhood and adolescence, may be crucial in determining when cognitive impairment begins. The purpose of this report is to examine the relationship of height, as a marker of childhood development, to late-life cognitive function in a sample of elderly Japanese-American men.
Method. Cognitive performance was assessed from 1991 to 1993 in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study in 3733 men aged 71 to 93 years and related to height that was measured 25 years earlier.
Results. Among the study sample, shorter men were older, leaner, and less educated than taller men. Shorter men also spent more years of their childhood living in Japan and were more likely to have had fathers in unskilled professions. After adjustment for age, the prevalence of poor cognitive performance declined consistently with increasing height from 25% in men shorter than 154 cm (61 in) to 9% in those taller than 174 cm (69 in). Excluding men with stroke or dementia did not alter the association between height and cognitive performance. Apolipoprotein E4 was unrelated to height and did not effect the association between height and cognitive function. The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease was higher in men who were 154 cm (61 in) or shorter as compared with men who were taller (4.7% vs 2.9%, respectively). There was no association between height and vascular dementia.
Conclusion. Efforts to improve prenatal and early life conditions to maximize growth in childhood and adolescence could diminish or delay the expression of cognitive impairments that occur later in life. Prevention of some late-life cognitive impairments may have pediatric origins. Key words: dementia, cognitive function, childhood development.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Facebook 
Reddit 
Technorati 
Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  P. H. Casey, R. H. Bradley, L. Whiteside-Mansell, K. Barrett, J. M. Gossett, and P. M. Simpson Effect of Early Intervention on 8-Year Growth Status of Low-Birth-Weight Preterm Infants Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, November 1, 2009; 163(11): 1046 - 1053. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Z. X. Zhang, B. L. Plassman, Q. Xu, G.E.P. Zahner, B. Wu, M. Y. Gai, H. B. Wen, X. Chen, S. Gao, D. Hu, et al. Lifespan influences on mid- to late-life cognitive function in a Chinese birth cohort Neurology, July 21, 2009; 73(3): 186 - 194. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. L. Huang, M. C. Carlson, A. L. Fitzpatrick, L. H. Kuller, L. P. Fried, and P. P. Zandi Knee height and arm span: A reflection of early life environment and risk of dementia Neurology, May 6, 2008; 70(19_Part_2): 1818 - 1826. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Cantor, M. E. Kuban, T. Blak, P. E. Klassen, R. Dickey, and R. Blanchard Physical Height in Pedophilic and Hebephilic Sexual Offenders Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, December 1, 2007; 19(4): 395 - 407. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Gao, Y. Jin, K. S. Hall, C. Liang, F. W. Unverzagt, R. Ji, J. R. Murrell, J. Cao, J. Shen, F. Ma, et al. Selenium Level and Cognitive Function in Rural Elderly Chinese Am. J. Epidemiol., April 15, 2007; 165(8): 955 - 965. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Ribas-Fito, B. C Gladen, J. W Brock, M. A Klebanoff, and M. P Longnecker Prenatal exposure to 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (p,p'-DDE) in relation to child growth Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2006; 35(4): 853 - 858. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. K E Magnusson, F. Rasmussen, and U. B Gyllensten Height at age 18 years is a strong predictor of attained education later in life: cohort study of over 950 000 Swedish men Int. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2006; 35(3): 658 - 663. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J-M Kim, R Stewart, I-S Shin, and J-S Yoon Limb length and dementia in an older Korean population J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, April 1, 2003; 74(4): 427 - 432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. D. Abbott, G. W. Ross, L. R. White, J. S. Nelson, K. H. Masaki, C. M. Tanner, J. D. Curb, P. L. Blanchette, J. S. Popper, and H. Petrovitch Midlife adiposity and the future risk of Parkinson's disease Neurology, October 8, 2002; 59(7): 1051 - 1057. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Borenstein Graves, J. A. Mortimer, J. D. Bowen, W. C. McCormick, S. M. McCurry, G. D. Schellenberg, and E. B. Larson Head circumference and incident Alzheimer's disease: Modification by apolipoprotein E Neurology, October 23, 2001; 57(8): 1453 - 1460. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. M. Moceri, W. A. Kukull, I. Emanuel, G. van Belle, and E. B. Larson Early-life risk factors and the development of Alzheimer's disease Neurology, January 25, 2000; 54(2): 415 - 415. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. J. Lerner Women and Alzheimer's Disease J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 1999; 84(6): 1830 - 1834. [Full Text]
|
|
