Poor lung function in small people increases risk of heart disease: study

Washington DC: A recent study suggests that an badociation between small size and the higher risk of heart disease is primarily attributed to our lungs.

As part of this study, researchers examined over 800 human genome sites known to be badociated with adult height and also evaluated data suggesting that a lower height increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The authors found no evidence of a causal link between height and risk of type 2 diabetes once an individual's body mbad index had been taken into account. account, but reported a cause-and-effect relationship between height and risk of heart disease.

Many traditional risk factors for heart disease have been studied, including cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, fat percentage, and socioeconomic parameters, including education and income, but the results have shown that they represented only a very small part of the effect of size on the heart. risk of illness. The way our lungs work largely explains this effect.

"Understanding the cause-and-effect relationship behind an observation such as the inverse relationship between adult height and risk of heart disease is important for advancing our understanding of the disease and could help define lifestyle interventions that may impact suggests that we need to badess lung function alongside a person's height to better predict their risk of developing heart disease, "said Eirini Marouli, lead author of the study.

Heart attacks are one of the most common causes of death in the world. Nearly one in six men and one in ten women die from heart disease. It is therefore particularly important to identify the risk factors for heart disease, especially those that could be altered through early life-style interventions.

"People of the shortest standing may consider exercising regularly and avoid a sedentary lifestyle and smoking to reduce their risk of heart disease, since, as we do showed in this study, the effect of a shorter size on the risk of heart disease is mitigated by: Our findings and other studies of this type reinforce efforts to promote a healthy and healthy lifestyle. especially physical activity that can improve lung function, "said Panos Deloukas.