Recent studies have revealed an inverse association between height and cardiovascular disease. However, the background mechanism of this association has not yet been clarified. Height has also been reported to be positively associated with cancer. Therefore, well-known cardiovascular risk factors, such as increased oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, are not the best explanations for this inverse association because these risk factors are also related to cancer. However, impaired blood flow is the main pathological problem in cardiovascular disease, while glowing feeding vessels (angiogenesis) are the main characteristic of cancer pathologies. Therefore, endothelial maintenance activity, especially for the productivity of hematopoietic stem cells such as CD34-positive cells, could be associated with the height of an individual because this cell contributes not only to the progression of atherosclerosis but also to the development of angiogenesis. In addition, recent studies have also revealed a close connection between bone marrow activity and endothelial maintenance; bone marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells contribute towards endothelial maintenance. Since the absolute volume of bone marrow is positively associated with height, height could influence endothelial maintenance activity. Based on these hypotheses, we performed several studies. The aim of this review is not only to discuss the association between height and bone marrow activity, but also to describe the potential mechanism underlying endothelial maintenance. In addition, this review also aims to explain some of the reasons that implicate hypertension as a major risk factor for stroke among the Japanese population. The review also aims to clarify the anthropological reasons behind the high risk of atherosclerosis progression in Japanese individuals with acquired genetic characteristics.
Aged ; Atherosclerosis/physiopathology* ; Body Height/physiology* ; Bone Marrow/physiology* ; Disease Progression ; Endothelium/physiology* ; Humans ; Hypertension/physiopathology* ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Stroke/physiopathology*

BACKGROUND: The Shanghai growth standards are higher than World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards, which may influence the feeding practices of the caregivers and increase the risk of overweight in these infants. This study aimed to compare the effects of different growth standards on childhood obesity in Shanghai metropolitan area. METHODS: This was a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in 2 downtown areas with 19 community health service centers in Shanghai from November 2013 to December 2015. Randomization was done at the level of the community. Infants (health newborns) were assessed and monitored by the Shanghai growth standards (S-group) and the 2006 WHO growth standards (W-group), respectively. Measurements were taken at 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 9.0 and 12.0 months of age during follow-up period. Based on the values of length and weight measurements, according to the group's growth standards, doctors provided the caregivers with corresponding clinical consultation. Changes in weight-for-age z-score (WAZ), length-for-age z-score (LAZ), and weight-for length z-score (WLZ) between 2 groups were assessed using mixed regression models. Overweight was compared between 2 group at all follow-up measurements. RESULTS: A total of 6509 infants (52.1% were boys) were in the W-group, and 8510 infants (51.4% were boys) were in the S-group. The overweight ratios between two groups were distinct at 9 months of age (3.4% in W-group and 4.3% in S-group) and 12 months of age (2.2% in W-group and 3.8% in S-group), and the differences were statistically significant (P = 0.020 and P < 0.001, respectively). Compared to W-group, the increase in WAZ (coefficient = 0.04, P = 0.004) and WLZ (coefficient = 0.09, P < 0.001) were significantly greater, and the LAZ was lower (coefficient = -0.04, P = 0.047) in S-group (W-group values were used as reference in mixed regression models). CONCLUSION: Compared to the Shanghai growth standards, the adoption of WHO 2006 growth standards would reduce the risk of infant overweight in Shanghai metropolitan area up to 1 year of age. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ChiCTR1800015371, http://www.chictr.org.cn/ Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.
Body Height ; physiology ; Body Weight ; physiology ; China ; Feeding Behavior ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Overweight ; physiopathology

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and atherosclerosis are bidirectionally related, while platelet count could serve as an indicator of endothelial repair. Therefore, high platelet counts could be associated with hypertension by indicating more intense endothelial repair activity. Furthermore, short stature has been shown to constitute a risk of atherosclerosis. Since inflammation-related single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP (rs3782886)) is reportedly associated with myocardial infarction and short stature, rs3782886 could be associated with a high platelet count and thus more intense endothelial repair activity. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 988 elderly Japanese who participated in a general health check-up. Short stature was defined as a height of at or under the 25th percentile of the study population, and high platelet count as the highest tertiles of the platelet levels. RESULTS: High platelet counts were found to be independently and positively associated with hypertension while rs3782886 was independently associated with high platelet levels and short stature. The classical cardiovascular risk factor-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of high platelet count for hypertension was 1.34 (1.02, 1.77). With non-minor homo of the rs3782886 as the reference group, the adjusted OR and 95% CI for high platelet count and short stature of minor home were 2.40 (1.30, 4.42) and 2.21 (1.16, 4.21), respectively. CONCLUSION SNP (rs3782886) was shown to be associated with high platelet count and short stature. This result partly explains how a genetic factor can influence the impact of height on endothelial repair.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Platelets ; metabolism ; Body Height ; genetics ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Endothelium, Vascular ; physiology ; Female ; Genetic Association Studies ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood ; epidemiology ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Platelet Count ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Objective: To investigate the associations of obesity and physical activity with cognition in the elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2009 to June 2010 among people aged ≥50 years selected through multistage random cluster sampling in Shanghai. The subjects' body weight, body height, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), and the data on self-reported physical activity level were collected through questionnaire survey. A comprehensive battery of cognitive tests was conducted to assess subjects' cognitive functions, including verbal recall, forward digit span (FDS), backward digit span (BDS), and verbal fluency (VF). General linear model was used to examine the associations of BMI, WHR and physical activity with cognition. Results: A total of 7 913 participants were included, with a median age of 60 years. Age, sex, education level, income level, BMI, WHR and physical activity level were significantly associated with cognitive scores in univariate analysis. After adjusted for age, sex, education level and income level, BMI was no longer significantly associated with cognitive scores in all cognitive functions (all P>0.01). WHR was significantly associated with VF score (P<0.01). Abdominally obese participants had lower VF score than non-abdominally obese participants (P<0.01). Physical activity level was significantly associated with all cognitive functions (P<0.01). Compared with participants with moderate physical activity level, participants with low physical activity level had lower scores in all cognitive functions (P<0.01). Conclusion: Abdominal obesity and low physical activity level were negatively associated with cognition level in the elderly, suggesting that waist circumference control and physical activity might help maintain cognition in the elderly.
Aged ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; China ; Cognition/physiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Exercise ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio

Objective: To investigate the effects of docosahexenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on infant's growth and BMI during pregnancy. Methods: A total of 1 516 healthy pregnant women delivered their babies in two maternal and child health care hospitals in Beijing and were chosen as the subjects in this cohort study from May to October 2015. Self-developed questionnaires were used to gather general information of the subjects, including age, height, weight, weight gain during pregnancy, delivery mode, DHA supplementation etc., before giving birth. Information on body length, weight, head circumference and BMI at birth and 6 months postnatal, of the infants were recorded. Breast milk was collected to test the fatty acid profiles by using the gas chromatography (GC) method at one to three months postnatally. Results: The overall rate of DHA supplementation was 47.76% among the pregnant women, in which introduction of DHA from the early and second stage of the pregnancy accounted for 49.31% and 39.64% respectively. When DHA supplementation began from the early pregnant stage, the DHA concentration showed an increase in the milk (P<0.05), whereas the supplementation began from the second and third stages did not affect the milk DHA concentration (P>0.05). Higher height and lower BMI were seen in the infants at birth and 6 months in the supplementation group when comparing to the non-supplementary group (P<0.05), with the greatest effects noticed in the earliest supplementation group. Specifically, the head circumference appeared larger from the early pregnant stage in the DHA supplementary group, than that in the non-supplement group (P=0.001). The increment of head circumference was larger than that in the other groups when the infants were 6-month old (P<0.01). Results from the partial regression analysis showed that during pregnancy, there were positive correlations between DHA supplementation and height (r=0.324, r=0.216), head circumference (r=0.221, r=0.302) as well as the increment of head circumference (r=0.276) at birth and 6 months (P<0.05). Whereas, a negative correlation was shown between DHA and the infants' BMI (r=-0.310, r=-0.371) (P<0.05) when supplementation was given during maternal pregnancy. Conclusions: When DHA supplementation program was carried out during maternal pregnancy, it could increase the height and head circumference and inhibit the rapid increase of BMI in the infants BMI. Our findings seemed helpful in promoting brain development and preventing the childhood obesity.
Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Child Development/drug effects* ; Cohort Studies ; Dietary Supplements ; Docosahexaenoic Acids/pharmacology* ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn/physiology* ; Maternal-Fetal Exchange ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Prenatal Care ; Weight Gain

OBJECTIVETo establish the intrauterine growth curves of neonates in Shenzhen, China and to investigate the intrauterine growth of neonates in Shenzhen.

METHODSCross-sectional cluster sampling was performed for an on-the-spot investigation of 16 887 neonates (9 418 males and 7 469 females) with a gestational age of 27-42 weeks who were born in two hospitals in Shenzhen from April 2013 to September 2015. The Lambda Mu Sigma (LMS) method was used for the curve fitting of body weight, body length, head circumference, chest circumference, and crown-rump length.

RESULTSThe 3rd-97th percentile intrauterine growth curves for body weight, body length, head circumference, chest circumference, and crown-rump length were plotted for the neonates with a gestational age of 27-42 weeks who were divided into three groups (male, female, and mixed). The male neonates had significantly higher curves for the five indices than the female counterparts. The pattern and changing trend of body weight curves of these neonates were basically consistent with those in China Neonatal Network.

CONCLUSIONSThe percentile intrauterine growth curves for body weight, body length, head circumference, chest circumference, and crown-rump length in neonates with a gestational age of 27-42 weeks in Shenzhen which has been established can provide a reference for clinical practice in the department of neonatology.

Body Height ; Body Weight ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Crown-Rump Length ; Female ; Fetal Development ; physiology ; Gestational Age ; Head ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Thorax ; anatomy & histology

PURPOSE: To describe the relationship between the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) and to evaluate the validity of WHtR in identifying adolescents with metabolic syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data from a pooled population of 4068 adolescents aged 10-19 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted between 1998 and 2008. Overweight individuals were defined by body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile. Those with at least 2 CMRFs among hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were classified as having multiple CMRFs. RESULTS: WHtR was significantly related to systolic blood pressure, HDL-C, and triglycerides in both non-overweight and overweight adolescents (all p<0.01). Among overweight adolescents, the area under the curve (AUC) for WHtR in identifying multiple CMRFs was significantly greater than that for BMI (p=0.014). Metabolic syndrome was more common in overweight adolescents with a WHtR of ≥0.5 than in those with a WHtR of <0.5 (p<0.001). In non-overweight adolescents, the prevalences of multiple CMRFs (p=0.001) and metabolic syndrome (p<0.001) were higher in those with a WHtR of ≥0.5 than in those with a WHtR of <0.5. Among those without central obesity, the prevalence of multiple CMRFs was higher in those with a WHtR of ≥0.5 than in those with a WHtR of <0.5 (p=0.021). CONCLUSION: WHtR is a simple and valid index for identifying adolescents with increased cardiometabolic risk and is related to CMRFs even in non-overweight adolescents. In adolescents already screened via BMI and waist circumference (WC), WHtR seems to be of additional help in discriminating those at higher cardiometabolic risk.
Adolescent ; Blood Pressure/physiology ; *Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases/*epidemiology ; Child ; Cholesterol, HDL/blood ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications/epidemiology ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*epidemiology ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity, Abdominal/complications/*epidemiology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides/blood ; *Waist Circumference/physiology ; *Waist-Height Ratio ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDFor a child with osteosarcoma, prediction of the limb length discrepancy at maturity is important when planning for limb salvage surgery. The purpose of this study was to provide a reliable prediction method.

METHODSA retrospective review of Chinese children receiving chemotherapy for osteosarcoma before skeletal maturity was conducted. Standing full-length radiographs of the lower extremity were used for length measurements. Length-for-age curves were constructed using the LMS method. The lower limb multiplier for a specific age and gender was calculated using the formula M = Lm/L, where M was the gender- and age-specific multiplier, Lmwas the bone length at maturity, and L was the age-specific bone length. Prematurity and postmaturity radiographs were used to assess the accuracy of the prediction methods.

RESULTSA total of 513 radiographs of 131 boys and 314 radiographs of 86 girls were used to calculate the coefficients of the multiplier. The multipliers of 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-, 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old boys after chemotherapy for osteosarcoma were 1.394, 1.306, 1.231, 1.170, 1.119, 1.071, 1.032, 1.010, 1.004, 1.001, and 1.000, respectively; while for girls at the same ages, the multipliers were 1.311, 1.221, 1.146, 1.092, 1.049, 1.021, 1.006, 1.001, 1.000, 1.000, and 1.000, respectively. Prematurity and postmaturity femoral and tibial lengths of 21 patients were used to assess the prediction accuracy. The mean prediction error was 0 cm, 0.8 cm, and 1.6 cm for the multiplier method using our coefficients, Paley's coefficients, and Anderson's method, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSOur coefficients for the multiplier method are reliable in predicting lower limb length growth of Chinese children with osteosarcoma.

Adolescent ; Body Height ; physiology ; Bone Neoplasms ; surgery ; Child ; Female ; Femur ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Limb Salvage ; Lower Extremity ; anatomy & histology ; Male ; Models, Theoretical ; Osteosarcoma ; surgery ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Tibia ; anatomy & histology

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between the suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA) and the predicted adult height (PAH) in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP) during the treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa), in order to provide guidance for individualized GnRHa dose adjustment in clinical practice.

METHODSThe clinical data of 75 CPP girls were collected, and then height, bone age (BA), uterine and ovarian volumes, and peak luteinizing hormone (LH), peak follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol (E2) levels were recorded at different time points of GnRHa treatment. PAH at each time point was calculated. PAH improvement (ΔPAH=PAH-target height) and its relationship with the degree of HPGA suppression were analyzed. Threshold effect analysis was applied to determine the best HPGA suppression range forΔPAH.

RESULTSAfter GnRHa treatment, PAHs were improved markedly compared with the data in the early stage of treatment. ΔPAH showed a negative correlation with ΔBA. At 24 months of treatment, ΔPAH was also negatively correlated with LH. Uterine volume controlled between 2.3 and 3.0 mL, LH level controlled below 0.8 IU/L, and FSH controlled below 2.4 IU/L could slow down the growth of BA and improve PAH.

CONCLUSIONSGnRHa treatment can improve the PAH of CPP girls. Selection of an appropriate therapeutic dose for GnRHa to control uterine volume, LH and FSH levels within certain ranges can slow down the growth of BA and improve PAH.

Adult ; Body Height ; Child ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; analogs & derivatives ; Humans ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; physiology ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Ovary ; physiology ; Puberty, Precocious ; blood ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVEFor heart functional parameters, we commonly used normal range. The reference values and predict formulas of heart functional parameters and their relationships with individual characteristics are still lack.

METHODSLeft ventricular (LV) volumes (end-diastolic volume and end-systolic volume), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF) and cardiac output (CO) were measured by cardiac CT angiography (CAT) in 1 200 healthy Caucasian volunteers, men 807 and women 393, and age 20-90yr. The results are analyzed by high-accuracy three-dimensional imaging technology, and then measured the dynamic changes of the volumes of each atriam and ventricule during their contractions and relaxations. The gender, age, height and weight were analyzed by multiple linear regression to predict LV functional parameters.

RESULTSExcept the LVEF was lower in man than in women (P < 0.001), all other LV functional parameters of EDV, ESV, SV, FE and CO were higher in man (P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression indicated that age, gender, height and weight are all independent factors of EDV, ESV and SV (P < 0.001). CO could be significantly predicted by age, gender and weight (P < 0.001), but not height (P > 0.05). The predict equation for CO (L x min(-1)) = 6.963+0.446 (Male) -0.037 x age (yr) +0.013 x weight (kg).

CONCLUSIONAge, gender, height and weight are predictors of heart functions. The reference values and predict equations are important for noninvasive and accurate evaluation of cardiovascular disease and individualized treatment.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; Cardiac Output ; Female ; Heart ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reference Values ; Sex Factors ; Stroke Volume ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Young Adult