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SYDNEY: Both your health and financial success may be linked to your height, says a new report, which even found a link with the risk of developing cancer.
Brian McEvoy, a population geneticist at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, and co-worker Peter Visscher, reviewed over 70 research studies related to height, and found a general trend which confirms that your stature can affect both health and wealth.
Indeed, being tall has been tied with a greater risk of developing thyroid, breast, pancreatic, colorectal and prostrate cancers. On the other hand, for every 10 cm increase in height, hourly wages raise by an average of 3%, McEvoy said. This is equal to half a year of additional education or two years of work experience.
80% genetics
Researchers have postulated that taller people may have a more positive self-image during adolescence, leading to better social skills. The study is published this month in the journal Economics and Human Biology.
Geneticists already knew that height is controlled about 80% by genes and only 20% by the environment. In the past few years as many as 50 genes that influence height have been discovered, but 75% of the genetic influence of height remains to be discovered, the researchers said.
Geneticists are interested in factors that influence height as "biological pathways overlap, so [a gene] could be involved in cancer and height," said McEvoy. One specific gene associated with height (HMG2A) has been implicated in the development of a number of types of cancerous tumors. This gene, which encourages growth, may also lead to uncontrolled cell growth in certain tissues, leading to cancer.
Arthritis link
Another study showed that, for every 10 cm over the average height – currently 178 cm in men and 165 cm in women in Australia – a man's risk of prostate cancer increases by 6%.
Shorter people don't get all the health benefits though. Other research suggests that they are more prone to osteoarthritis. With less of a certain gene (GDFS), they typically have less cartilage, shorter bones and thus an increased risk of wear and tear at the joints.
These discoveries point to a probable link between height and health, but, as McEvoy, at an average height of 1.70cm, reinforces, "these are averages - they don't predict any individual's outcome."
"The challenge now in genetics, is finding genes in complex traits. We are finding some genes, but those genes don't explain the full complexity of the trait," said McEvoy, "There is still a long way to go."
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