Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Gunhild Tidemann Okholm
Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Kaare Christensen
Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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 7388 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 associations persisted in within-brother analysis and revealed a stronger, but less precise, point estimate than the cohort analysis of brothers. The twin analysis showed similar, but imprecise estimates.
