Association between height and blood pressure in healthy adults from Mexico City: a cross-sectional analysis from the Tlalpan 2020 cohort

Arleth Martínez-García, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico
Erick Mejía-Castillo, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico
Malinalli Brianza-Padilla, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Rashidi Springall, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Guadalupe Gutiérrez-Esparza, Researcher in the “Researcher for Mexico” Program, Secretaría de Ciencias, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECIHTI), Mexico City, Mexico
Valentín Jimenez-Rojas, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Kelly P. Velázquez-Espinosa, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Ricardo Márquez-Velasco, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Yaneli Juárez-Vicuña, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Gabriela Fonseca-Camarillo, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Claudia Tavera-Alonso, Central Laboratory, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Andrés Cruz-Melendez, Central Laboratory, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Mireya Martínez-García, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Héctor González-Pacheco, Coronary Care Unit, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico
Julio Sandoval, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez; Department of Cardiopulmonary, American British Cowdray Hospital; Mexico City, Mexico
Luis M. Amezcua-Guerra, Department of Immunology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez; Department of Health Care, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco; School of Medicine, Universidad La Salle. Mexico City, Mexico

Objectives: The association between adult height and blood pressure (BP) remains inconsistent across populations. We aimed to evaluate this association in a cohort of clinically healthy adults from Mexico City, Mexico. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of non-diabetic, normotensive adults residing in Mexico City. Bivariate analyses were performed to explore differences in systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) across sex-specific height quartiles. Subsequently, sex-stratified multivariable linear regression models were constructed to assess the association between height and BP, adjusting for covariates selected based on their established relationship with BP. Results: A total of 3,250 participants were included (mean age, 37.1 ± 9.1 years). Among women (n = 2.069), SBP and DBP did not differ significantly across height quartiles. In men, DBP was slightly higher in shorter quartiles, whereas no significant differences were observed for SBP. For each 10-cm increase in height, SBP decreased by 1.08 mmHg in women and 1.61 mmHg in men, while DBP decreased by 0.61 mmHg and 1.71 mmHg, respectively. Conclusions: In this selected cohort of clinically healthy adults from Mexico City, taller stature was modestly associated with lower BP. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously given the cross-sectional design, potential residual confounding, and limited generalizability.

Keywords: Body height. Blood pressure. Cardiovascular risk factors.