Epidemiol Health.  2013;35:e2013002.

The Relationship between Height and Cognitive Function among Community-dwelling Elderly: Hallym Aging Study

• Quan SA
• Jeong JY
• Kim DH

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Height is known as an index that reflects the environment of the fetal, childhood, and adolescent periods, which affect adult health. This study was conducted to elucidate whether height is associated with cognitive impairment in community-dwelling elders in Korea.
METHODS
The study subjects were recruited among community dwelling elderly individuals aged 65 or over who participated in the 2004 Hallym Aging Study. They were invited to a general hospital and were evaluated for socioeconomic status, smoking history, and various clinical measures. Cognitive function measurement was performed using the Korean-Mini Mental State Examination. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between height and cognitive function.
RESULTS
After adjusting for potential covariates such as age and education, the smallest group was associated with higher risk of cognitive impairment compared with the tallest group among elderly men (odds ratio [OR], 4.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-17.36), but not among elderly women (OR,1.65; 95% CI, 0.62-4.40).
CONCLUSIONS
The reason for this difference according to sex may be explained by the differential effects of education on cognitive function by sex. A larger population-based prospective cohort study is needed to examine the association between height and cognitive function according to sex.

Keyword

Body height; Cognition; Hallym Aging Study

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aging
Body Height
Cognition
Cohort Studies
Female
Hospitals, General
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Smoke
Smoking
Social Class
Smoke