Sad about being short? Study shows tall people at risk of several serious health conditions

• Tall people at risk of conditions of neuropathy such as erectile dysfunction.
• Tall people at lower risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 
• In women, height increases risk of asthma and non-specific nerve disorders.

There is a significant relationship between a person's height and their health and people who are taller may be at risk of developing certain health conditions as compared to shorter people, a study has shown.

According to Science Daily, the study was conducted by the US Department of Veteran Affairs' Million Veteran programme. The results of the genetic study showed that tall people have a higher risk of developing peripheral neuropathy, atrial fibrillation, and circulatory disorders but a lower risk of coronary heart diseases.

Dr Sridharan Raghavan from the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System was leading the study. While the results are interesting, more research is required to allow it to bring a change to the healthcare system, he explained.

Raghavan said that height could be a risk factor for certain conditions and "protective" for others. 

It is unclear whether the correlation between tall height and health conditions necessarily has a biological basis.

While genes contribute to a person's height, other factors like nutrition, socioeconomic status, and demographics like age and gender also play a part. This is why it is risky to determine the connection between height and health risks.

In the study, 280,000 veterans were made part of the research in this project. The research found that genetically predicted height in White patients could be linked to 127 different medical conditions.

The findings of the study showed that tall people were also at a lower risk of developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol. However, height may increase the risk of several non-cardiovascular diseases.

Peripheral neuropathy, for instance, damages the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. This study and others suggest a relatively higher risk of nerve issues in tall people.

Researchers linked other conditions associated with neuropathy, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary retention, with genetically predicted height.

Other serious conditions like chronic leg ulcers, cellulitis, skin abscesses, and osteomyelitis were also found to be linked with tall height. Circulatory conditions such as varicose veins and thrombosis are also dominantly found in tall individuals, the study said.

In women, height increases the risk of asthma and non-specific nerve disorders.