Body height in young adult men and risk of dementia later in adult life

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between body height and dementia and explored the impact of intelligence level, educational attainment, early life environment and familial factors. A total of 666,333 men, 70,608 brothers, and 7,388 twin brothers born 1939-1959 and examined at the conscript board were followed in Danish nationwide registers (1969-2016). Cox regression models were applied to analyze the association between body height and dementia. Within-brothers and within-twin pair analyses were conducted to explore the role of shared familial factors including partly shared genetics. In total, 10,599 men were diagnosed with dementia. The association between one z-score difference in body height and dementia (HR: 0.90, 95%CI: 0.89;0.90) was inverse and weakened slightly after adjustment for intelligence test scores and educational level. The within-brother analyses revealed a smaller estimate for dementia diagnosis the cohort analyses of brothers. The twin analysis showed similar, though less clear associations, which were not statistically significant.