Height loss tied to heart disease in men

CHICAGO -- A study of older British men finds that those who shrink in height by about an inch or more over 20 years are more likely to die earlier than other men. Those men also have a greater risk of heart disease.

Scant research had been done previously on the health effects of height loss during aging, except for the extreme bone loss of osteoporosis.

Height loss "may well be another marker of declining health in the elderly," said study co-author Goya Wannamethee, an epidemiologist at Royal Free & University College Medical School in London.

Height loss almost always occurs with other evidence of frailty, she said, such as loss of mobility, weight loss, breathing trouble and musculoskeletal problems, such as arthritis.

Other research has shown similar factors underlie both osteoporosis and heart disease, such as high cholesterol, inflammation and high blood pressure, she said. Inflammation and lipids in the blood may contribute to low bone mineral density, although the exact mechanism is unclear.

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