Kim Jae-Min, Stewart Robert, Shin Il-Seon, Kim Sung-Wan, Yang Su-Jin, Yoon Jin-Sang
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Kwangju, Republic of Korea.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008 Jan;23(1):41-8. doi: 10.1002/gps.1833.
Adult leg length is influenced by nutritional intake in childhood. Shorter leg length has been found to be associated with adverse health outcomes in late life, including dementia. Smaller head circumference has also been found to be associated with dementia. The independence of these two potential markers of risk for dementia has not been investigated.
Community residents aged 65 or over (n = 916) within a defined geographic area of South Korea were screened clinically for dementia and dementia subtypes. Data on anthropometric measures (head circumference and leg length), demographics (age, gender), apolipoprotein E, and early life environment (birth order, number of siblings, parental occupation, area of residence, education) were gathered. Reproductive history was also ascertained in women.
Both smaller head circumference and shorter leg length were associated with increased age, rural residence in childhood and lower education. After adjustment for these factors, they were both independently associated with Alzheimer's disease but only in women.
Smaller head size and shorter limb length were associated with lower early-life socio-economic status. Both factors were apparently independent markers of risk for dementia which may indicate risk factors occurring in childhood affecting both brain and skeletal development. Associations were principally present in women. Reasons for gender differences in associations require clarification but, for this population and age group, may include preferential treatment of male children.
成人腿长受儿童期营养摄入的影响。研究发现，腿长较短与晚年不良健康结局相关，包括痴呆症。头围较小也被发现与痴呆症有关。尚未对这两种痴呆症潜在风险标志物的独立性进行研究。
对韩国特定地理区域内65岁及以上的社区居民（n = 916）进行痴呆症及痴呆症亚型的临床筛查。收集人体测量指标（头围和腿长）、人口统计学数据（年龄、性别）、载脂蛋白E以及早期生活环境（出生顺序、兄弟姐妹数量、父母职业、居住地区、教育程度）等数据。还确定了女性的生育史。
头围较小和腿长较短均与年龄增长、童年时期居住在农村以及教育程度较低有关。在对这些因素进行调整后，二者均独立与阿尔茨海默病相关，但仅在女性中如此。
头围较小和肢体长度较短与早年较低的社会经济地位相关。这两个因素显然都是痴呆症风险的独立标志物，这可能表明童年时期出现的风险因素会影响大脑和骨骼发育。这种关联主要存在于女性中。关联存在性别差异的原因需要进一步阐明，但对于这一人群和年龄组而言，可能包括对男性儿童的优先待遇。
