Association between Height and Actinic Keratosis: A Nationwide Population-based Study in South Korea

Abstract

The association between actinic keratosis (AK) and anthropometric measures has not been investigated. This study aims to evaluate the associations between anthropometric measures and the incidence of AK in South Korea. We analyzed clinical data from individuals aged over 20 years who received a health examination arranged by the national insurance program between 2005 and 2008. Newly diagnosed AK was identified using claims data from baseline to the date of diagnosis or until December 31, 2015. The incidence of AK was highest among the elderly (aged over 60 years) and showed a male bias. The risk of AK increased with greater height. The quintile with the greatest height had an increased risk of AK compared with the quintile with the lowest height (hazard ratio = 1.28, 95% confidence interval: 1.24–1.33) after adjustment for age, sex, income, smoking status, alcohol consumption, hypertension, dyslipidemia, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This study showed a positive association between the incidence of AK and human height. However, it is unclear whether these findings can be generalized to Koreans who have not received an examination or to populations in other countries.

Height and Risk of Vitiligo: A Nationwide Cohort Study

“…Accumulative UV-radiation exposure is another known environmental trigger of vitiligo [11]. UV irradiance increases with altitude, which also applies to body height, thus contributing to the higher incidence of vitiligo as well as skin cancer [44] and actinic keratosis [24] in taller individuals. This is especially true in the elderly population who have high cumulative exposure to UV radiation.…”

“…Adult height has been linked with a number of diseases. Taller stature was reported to increase the risk of atrial fibrillation [20][21][22], venous thromboembolism [21,22], meningioma [23], vasculitis [22], actinic keratosis [24], and cancers including melanoma [22,25] and non-melanoma skin cancer [26,27].…”

A nationwide population-based study in South Korea on a relationship between height and anosmia

“…We used the Korean NHI Service database to identify comorbidities of subjects. The presence of diabetes was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for a prescription of antidiabetic medication under ICD-10 codes E10-14, or (2) fasting glucose level ≥ 110 mg/dL 40 . The presence of hypertension was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for the prescription of an antihypertensive agent under ICD-10 codes I10-I15, or (2) systolic/diastolic BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg 40 .…”

“…The presence of diabetes was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for a prescription of antidiabetic medication under ICD-10 codes E10-14, or (2) fasting glucose level ≥ 110 mg/dL 40 . The presence of hypertension was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for the prescription of an antihypertensive agent under ICD-10 codes I10-I15, or (2) systolic/diastolic BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg 40 . The presence of dyslipidemia was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for the prescription of an antihyperlipidemic agent under ICD-10 code E78, or (2) total cholesterol ≥ 239 mg/dL 40 .…”

“…The presence of hypertension was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for the prescription of an antihypertensive agent under ICD-10 codes I10-I15, or (2) systolic/diastolic BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg 40 . The presence of dyslipidemia was defined as: (1) at least one claim per year for the prescription of an antihyperlipidemic agent under ICD-10 code E78, or (2) total cholesterol ≥ 239 mg/dL 40 . We verified the test values in the health examination database.…”