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■有醫學研究指，身材矮的人較易患上心臟病，那麼普遍高近兩米的籃球員應該很慶幸吧。資料圖片
一項針對300萬人進行的大型研究顯示，身材矮小的人因心臟疾病早逝的風險，比高個子多超過5成。
這項研究顯示，身高不到1.53米的女性以及不到1.65米的男性，罹患心血管和冠狀動脈心臟病的風險，明顯比高過1.66米的女性和1.73米的男性大。
這篇刊於《歐洲心臟期刊》的研究結果說明，除癡肥、高齡及高膽固醇外，身材矮亦應被列入已知的心臟疾病風險因素裡。
過去60年，全球已有近2,000項調查身高與心臟健康關係的研究，但所得結果不一。由芬蘭坦佩雷大學的帕亞寧領導的一班科學家，嘗試在眾多研究中找出一個肯定答案。
他們認為，最佳方法是將最矮的人組與最高的人組相比，找出當中差距。他們集中處理52個研究，分析當中符合標準和可比性的300萬人。
其中一個理論指出，個子矮的人的冠狀動脈較小，較有可能在年輕時開始出現栓塞，尤其那人是營養不良或因感染而導致胎兒階段或童年時期發育不良。但帕亞寧說，近期研究發現，基因亦很可能是罪魁禍首。
因此，個子矮的人不需要因這項調查結果而煩惱，因為身高只是其中一項影響心臟病的因素，雖然人們無法控制身高，但可控制體重以及如吸煙、喝酒和運動等生活習慣。
■綜合外電消息
■羅國偉 資深翻譯員
Short People More Prone to Heart Disease
Short people are 50 percent likelier than tall people to die prematurely of heart disease, researchers reported in a major review of three million people.
The study showed that women under 1.53 metres and men under 1.65 metres are significantly more prone to cardiovascular or coronary heart problems than women and men taller than 1.66 metres and 1.73 metres, respectively.
The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, suggest that short stature should be added to the list of known heart disease risk factors alongside obesity, advanced age and high cholesterol levels, the researchers said.
The link between height and heart conditions has been examined in nearly 2,000 studies from around the world over the last 60 years, but evidence remained contradictory. Scientists in Finland led by Puula Paajanen of the University of Tampere sifted through all this research to see if they could tease out a definitive answer.
The best approach, they decided, was to compare the shortest group to the tallest group to highlight any differences that might emerge. They focussed on 52 earlier studies, examining more than three million people, that met their criteria for both comparability and high standards.
One theory is that shorter people have smaller coronary arteries that may become clogged earlier in life, especially when combined with poor nutrition or infections resulting in poor foetal or childhood growth. But recent findings also suggest genes may be a culprit, Paajanen said.
Short people should not be worried about the new findings, she added. "Height is only one factor that may contribute to heart disease. Whereas people have no control over their height, they can control their weight, lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking and exercise." ■AFP
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