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Increased weight associated with height loss in postmenopausal women
Height loss in postmenopausal women can be predicted by several factors, including older age, use of oral corticosteroids, strenuous exercise in young adulthood and increased weight, according to findings published in Menopause.
“Early identification of height loss risk factors and implementation of preventive treatments may be useful in ameliorating height loss and its related comorbidity and mortality,” the researchers wrote.
Xiaodan Mai, PhD, a research assistant in the department of epidemiology and environmental health at the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Buffalo, New York, and colleagues evaluated data from 1,024 postmenopausal women (mean age, 65.9 years; 97.9% white) participating in the Buffalo Osteoporosis and Periodontal Disease Study from 1994 to 1998. At baseline, participants completed questionnaires about medical history, demographic and lifestyle factors, medication use and diet. Height was measured with a fixed stadiometer at baseline and 5 years later.
At 5-year follow-up, mean height loss from baseline was 0.4 inches, and 6.8% of participants had height loss of at least 1 inch. At baseline, those who went on to lose at least 1 inch in height were statistically significantly older (OR = 1.11 per 1-year age increase; 95% CI, 1.06-1.16) and heavier (OR = 1.05 kg per 1 kg increase; 95% CI, 1.03-1.07), more often used corticosteroids (OR = 4.96; 95% CI, 1.25-19.72) and reported more often engaging in strenuous exercise at age 18 years (OR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.31-0.98) than those who had less than 1-inch height loss. Bone mineral density was not associated with height loss, according to the researchers.
“The inverse association strenuous exercise at a young age and postmenopausal height loss observed in our study may be explained by the beneficial effect of physical activity on peak bone density achieved at early life,” Mai and colleagues wrote.
The association between weight and height loss was surprising, according to the researchers.
“This unexpected finding could be explained by unfavorable effect of weight on factors leading to height loss other than low BMD,” they wrote. “Further investigation is warranted to support the association between weight and height loss beyond its weight-bearing benefits on BMD.” – by Jennifer Hoffman and Jill Rollet
Disclosures: The study was funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the NIH. The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.