The long and short of heart disease

The longer a woman's legs, the less likely she is to develop heart problems

This is the text of an article which appeared, under the headlines above, in the New Zealand Herald on 2004 June 19. I reproduce it here as an adjunct to my comments thereon. Many articles taken from the same original can ( or, at least, could ) be found by judicious web searches; this is taken from the printed version on which I based my comments. There are differences in detail between the articles I found; for example, several quote leg lengths as numbers which imply that the lengths of people's legs can be measured with a precision of the order of 0.1mm. I don't insist that it's impossible, but I'm curious as to how one would do it.

I have tried to ensure that the copy is accurate in all relevant respects ( which doesn't include line ends, for example, but does include the position of the green bit ); I assert that any remaining errors are the responsibility of my character-reading software.

The greenish bit corresponds to a green bit in the original; the brownish bit is particularly referred to in my other comments.

LONDON - Scientists have discovered a link between heart disease in women and the length of their legs - an indicator of diet and living conditions during childhood.     A Bristol University study, published in the journal Heart, found that women with heart disease were more likely to be older, more obese and to be former or current smokers.     They were also more likely to have poorer lung function, to have higher cholesterol levels, to be more insulin resistant - a precursor to diabetes - and to come from working-class families.     They were also more likely to have shorter bodies and legs.     Dr Debbie Lawlor, who led the study, said: "The

THE LEGS HAVE IT 4000 women surveyed Legs 700 heart disease 74.6cm to 75.3cm 3300 no heart disease 75.8cm to 76.0cm Conclusion: Risk decreases by an average of 16 per cent for every increase of 4.3cm in leg length.

protective effect of tall stature is unlikely to be the result of wider arteries or to less height shrinkage with age.     "Rather, it is likely to be a proxy for environmental factors from birth up to puberty which affect both growth of the bones in the legs and also have a long-term effect on heart disease in the future.     As babies are born with a long trunk and relatively short legs, growth of the legs is one of the best ways to gauge the positive effect of breast feeding, high-energy diets and affluence, she said.     "Breast-feeding, high-energy diets at the age of two and being born into an affluent family all positively influence growth; having parents who smoke and being born into a poor family negatively influence growth.     "The association between leg length and heart disease suggests that these early life risk factors also cause heart disease."     Dr Lawlor and her colleagues measured the height, leg length, trunk length and weight of more than 4000 women between the ages of 60 and 79 from 23 British towns.     They also assessed how well their lungs worked, whether they were former or current smokers, and noted their social class.     Of the 4000 surveyed, almost 700 had heart disease and 31 per cent of those had had heart attacks. Their leg lengths ranged from 74.6cm to 75.3cm.     Women without any symptoms had legs ranging from 75.8 to 76.0cm.     When all the risk factors were taken into account, the research concluded that leg length remained strongly linked to risk of heart disease.     It showed risk fell by an average of 16 per cent for every extra 4.3cm in leg length. - PA, REUTERS

Alan Creak,
2004 June.