The relation between adult height and haemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke in the Renfrew/Paisley study.

Adult height is a useful marker of fetal growth, growth and nutrition in childhood and childhood infections. Studies reporting inverse associations between height and stroke therefore provide support for the hypothesis that exposures acting in early life are important determinants of risk of stroke. [1] However, few studies have been able to examine the association between height and stroke subtype. We recently showed that height is inversely related to ischaemic stroke, but because of small numbers it was not possible to robustly analyse the association between height and haemorrhagic stroke. [1] A Norwegian study has shown a stronger inverse association with haemorrhagic compared with ischaemic stroke, but adjustment for socioeconomic position was not possible. [2] We recently reported a significant inverse association between height and stroke mortality in both men and women in the Renfrew/Paisley cohort. [3] Here we examine the association between height and subtype of incident stroke in this cohort.

Methods

The Renfrew/Paisley study, carried out between 1972 and 1976, involved 15 406 (almost 80%) residents aged 45-64 years from the towns of Renfrew and Paisley. Participants were representative of the population of the west of Scotland. Full details are available elsewhere. [4] Data collected included height, blood pressure, plasma cholesterol, smoking habit, occupational social class and past medical history. A computerised linkage of hospital admissions in Scotland provided records of main diagnoses of stroke over a 20 year follow up period. After omitting participants with missing data, 15 393 people were included in the analyses. Height quintiles were…