Is+Height+Your+Achilles+Heel?

Many people do not correlate height and mortality. However, height offers subtle hints that may help predict possible scenarios of death. Childhood nutrition, heart disease, cancer and FOXO genes are factors that still need to be further studied to understand the full relationship between height and death. Studies show that height has a negative impact of mortality.



__ Heart vs. Cancer __
The biggest debate in heights affect on mortality is its effect on cancer and cardiovascular disease. A study done on 135,000 Chinese men and women found that height associated with cancer, but no real consistency was found. However, another Chinese found that all-type cancer risk increased by almost 13% for every 4 inches a woman's height increased. While one trend may show an inverse relation between cardiovascular disease and height, another might see the opposite. A 40-year long study on 8,000 Japanese Americans showed height affecting cardiovascular disease more commonly while also providing signs of cancer increase as well.

__FOXO3__
FOXO3 is a key factor between height and longevity. The FOXO3 gene protects heart and blood vessels while also suppressing tumor growth. This key gene to longevity tends to be less frequent as height increases. Studies show that in leukemia and breast cancer, FOXO3 gene played a role in the inhibition of tumor growth and Myc. More information on the use of FOXO3 gene can be found here.

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__** References **__ Samaras, Thomas T., and Harold Elrick. "Height, Body Size, and Longevity: Is Smaller Better for the Humanbody?" Western Journal of Medicine. Copyright 2002 BMJ Publishing Group, n.d. Web

Wang, Na, and Xianglang Zhang. “Associations of Adult Height and Its Components with

Mortality: A Report from Cohort Studies of 135 000 Chinese Women and Men.” International Journal of Epidemiology 40.6 (2011): 1715-726. Oxford Journals [Oxford UP]. Web.

He, Qimei. “Shorter Men Live Longer: Association of Height with Longevity and FOXO3  Genotype in American Men of Japanese Ancestry.” PLOS ONE. PLOS, 7 May 2014. Web.  Willcox, Craigg. “FOXO3: A Major Gene for Human Longevity - A Mini Review.” Gerontology 61.6 (2015): 515-25. Web.