Rd. Abbott et al., HEIGHT AS A MARKER OF CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND LATE-LIFE COGNITIVE FUNCTION - THE HONOLULU-ASIA AGING STUDY, Pediatrics (Evanston), 102(3), 1998, pp. 602-609
Objective. Growing evidence suggests that structural and functional br
ain reserves, thought to develop in childhood and adolescence, may be
crucial in determining when cognitive impairment begins. The purpose o
f this report is to examine the relationship of height, as a marker of
childhood development, to late-life cognitive function in a sample of
elderly Japanese-American men. Method. Cognitive performance was asse
ssed from 1991 to 1993 in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study in 3733 men ag
ed 71 to 93 years and related to height that was measured 25 years ear
lier. Results. Among the study sample, shorter men were older, leaner,
and less educated than taller men. Shorter men also spent more years
of their childhood living in Japan and were more likely to have had fa
thers in unskilled professions. After adjustment for age, the prevalen
ce of poor cognitive performance declined consistently with increasing
height from 25% in men shorter than 154 cm (61 in) to 9% in those tal
ler than 174 cm (69 in). Excluding men with stroke or dementia did not
alter the association between height and cognitive performance. Apoli
poprotein E4 was unrelated to height and did not effect the associatio
n between height and cognitive function. The prevalence of Alzheimer's
disease was higher in men who were 154 cm (61 in) or shorter as compa
red with men who were taller (4.7% vs 2.9%, respectively). There was n
o association between height and vascular dementia. Conclusion. Effort
s to improve prenatal and early life conditions to maximize growth in
childhood and adolescence could diminish or delay the expression of co
gnitive impairments that occur later in life. prevention of some late-
life cognitive impairments may have pediatric origins.