Author Interviews, Diabetes, Genetic Research, Heart Disease, Nature / 02.04.2019
Shorter Individuals at Greater Risk of Heart Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Eirini Marouli
William Harvey Research Institute
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Epidemiological studies suggest that shorter stature is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) or type 2 diabetes (T2D). It is not clear though whether these associations are causal or there are other factors mediating these effects. When randomized trials are inappropriate or impossible, we can use Mendelian Randomisation as a good alternative to study the causal relationship between a trait and a disease. Here, we examined over 800 places in the human genome known to be associated with adult height and evaluated how genetically predicted height can affect the risk of CAD or T2D. Furthermore, we evaluated the role of several risk factors including, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, body mass index, fat percentage, socio-economic parameters including education and income as well as lung function. Lung function was assessed by spirometry measures including FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second, FVC: forced vital capacity.
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