Key result
Height was significantly positively associated with circulating CD34-positive cells among elderly Japanese men with low levels of these cells (β 0.27, p=0.008), but not among those with higher levels.
Why the study?
Evidence regarding the association between height and endothelial progenitor cells (CD34-positive cells) among elderly individuals is limited.
Is height associated with circulating CD34-positive cell levels in elderly Japanese men?
Cross-Sectional (n=231)
Is height associated with circulating CD34-positive cell levels in elderly Japanese men?
Effect estimate: β 0.27
p-value: p=0.008
Height is positively associated with circulating CD34-positive cells in elderly Japanese men with low baseline levels, suggesting it may be an indicator of vascular maintenance capability.
Height may proxy vascular maintenance in select elderly men; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before clinical use.
Recent studies have revealed an inverse association between height and cardiovascular disease and that endothelial progenitor cells (CD34-positive cells) contribute to vascular maintenance, which is associated with cardiovascular disease. However, evidence of the association between height and CD34-positive positive cells among elderly participants is limited. To assess this association, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 231 elderly Japanese men aged 65-69. Since enhanced production of circulating CD34-positive cells in response to endothelial injury might act have a strong confounding effect on the association between height and circulating CD34-positive cells, the median value for the levels of these cells (0.93 cells/μL) was used to stratify the participants. Multivariable linear regression analysis demonstrated that height was significantly positively associated with circulating CD34-positive cells for those participants with low levels of circulating CD34-positive cells (n=114) but not for those with higher levels (n=117), with a multi-adjusted standardized parameter estimate (β) of 0.27 (p=0.008) for low and 0.11 (0.275) for higher circulating CD34-positive cell levels. The positive association is limited to participants with relatively low circulating CD34-positive cell levels, whose productivity of these cells is not activated. Our findings indicate that height is an indicator of vascular maintenance capability in elderly Japanese men.
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Shimizu et al. (2019) conducted a cross-sectional in General health check-up participants (n=231). Height was evaluated on Circulating CD34-positive cell levels (β 0.27, p=0.008). Height was significantly positively associated with circulating CD34-positive cells among elderly Japanese men with low levels of these cells (β 0.27, p=0.008), but not among those with higher levels.
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