Adult height and lung function as markers of life course exposures: Associations with risk factors and cause-specific mortality

Abstract

Pulmonary function and height may be regarded as adult indices of exposures accumulated across the entire life course and in early life, respectively. As such, we hypothesised that pulmonary function would be more strongly related to mortality than height. Studies of the association of height and lung function with mortality – which are currently modest in number – will clarify the relative utility of these risk indices and the mechanisms underlying observed patterns of disease risk.