Height might be an indicator of various health problems, such as blood clots, a new study reports
According to the study, height can be a predicator of the risk for venous thromboembolism, also known as blood clots.
Apparently, the taller you are, the higher the chances of blood clots. The shortest men and women had the lowest risk, while the risk increased in taller individuals.
“Height is not something we can do anything about,” lead study author Dr. Bengt Zöller, associate professor at Lund University and Malmö University Hospital in Sweden, said in a news release.
“However, the height in the population has increased, and continues increasing, which could be contributing to the fact that the incidence of thrombosis has increased,” he said. “I think we should start to include height in risk assessment just as overweight, although formal studies are needed to determine exactly how height interacts with inherited blood disorders and other conditions.”
For example, in the United States, 60,000 to 100,000 people die annually because of blood clots. In Europe, things are even worse: an estimated 500,000 deaths related to blood clots are registered each year, according to a 2014 review paper in the journal Thrombosis Research.
However, the risk of blood clots is not the only health concern that is thought to be tied to height: cancer, heart problems, gestational diabetes and even longevity have been linked with height.
Even more, it has been concluded that body size, in general, is an important factor.
Source: cnn.com
