There are times when researchers discover interesting collateral information when trying to find answers to the most perplexing health questions. In recent years, many of these unusual findings have been linked to a person’s risk of developing heart disease.
Earlobe creases
It sounds far-fetched and a bit funny, but more than two dozen scientific studies conducted in the past few decades have examined the relationship between earlobe creases and increased risk of heart disease. Perhaps the best known of these studies was published in 1991. University of Chicago researchers followed more than a hundred subjects for 10 years and found that people with a diagonal crease in their earlobe had markedly higher rates of heart disease. or death from heart-related conditions than those without such a fold. The Chicago researchers were not alone in their findings.
Swedish researchers performed more than 500 autopsies on victims of cardiac arrest or heart disease and found that earlobe creases had “positive predictive value” for more than 68 percent of the subjects they examined. More than 80 percent of his subjects under the age of 40 who had succumbed to coronary artery disease had earlobe creases. A Turkish study found that earlobe wrinkles were a more serious risk factor for heart disease than family history, diabetes, or even smoking. At the Montreal Heart Institute, researchers reviewed the cases of nearly 350 hospitalized patients. Of those, 91 percent of patients with earlobe creases had heart disease compared with just 61 percent of those without creases. Irish scientists studied almost 250 patients and found that earlobe creases were indicative of heart disease in more than 71 percent of the participants.
All of this research seems to support what statisticians call low sensitivity-high specificity. This means that people without earlobe creases are not necessarily immune to heart disease, but people with earlobe creases are much more likely to have a cardiovascular disorder at some point in their lives. Although this evidence seems to make a strong case for the relationship between earlobe creases and cardiovascular disease, it is essential to note that many similar studies have found no such connection. There is currently no medical consensus on whether or not earlobe creases are a significant indicator of heart disease or an individual’s predisposition to it. Most experts believe that wrinkles simply increase with age, as does the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
However, earlobe creases certainly aren’t the only unusual putative risk factors for heart disease.
leg length
In 2004, British researchers from the University of Bristol announced that they had found evidence supporting the relationship between a woman’s leg length and her risk of developing heart disease. Among 4,000 participants, those with shorter legs were at higher risk of developing heart problems. For every four centimeters above a specific reference leg length, the risk decreased by 16 percent. Leg length remained a strong indicator of risk even after more traditional causes of heart disease, such as high cholesterol, weight, age, tobacco use and poor lung function, were taken into account.
ring finger length
Researchers at the University of Liverpool in the UK found that men with short ring fingers had lower testosterone levels, which increased the risk of an early heart attack. The Liverpool study measured the participants’ index and ring fingers and then divided the length. In subjects with a measurement ratio greater than 1.0, testosterone levels were found to be significantly lower than in those subjects whose measurements fell by a smaller measurement ratio. Low testosterone levels have been linked to higher cases of early heart attack.
male pattern baldness
In a study of more than 22,000 male doctors conducted over the course of 11 years, researchers found that participants with frontal baldness were nearly 10 percent more likely to develop heart disease than their non-balding counterparts, while subjects with plus hair loss or top baldness were 23 to nearly 40 percent more likely to have heart disease. A 2007 study by researchers at the University of Arizona confirmed that baldness does indeed increase the risk of heart disease, but ultimately concluded that hair loss itself was not a reliable indicator of risk.
Bad breath
Halitosis is just one of the side effects caused by advanced gum disease, and studies have shown that people with this condition produce antibodies that increase their risk of heart disease by up to 100 percent. In fact, one study even reported that treating gum disease could reverse the thickening of the carotid arteries.
Clear skin
Generally considered a positive trait, a British study found that fair skin could be a life-threatening condition. Of 11,000 men who participated in the study, those with acne in their teens were 30 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular or heart disease in midlife and beyond.
discolored mucus
A study recently published in the Biochemical Journal has suggested that there is a connection between cardiovascular disease and green-stained mucus. The discoloration is caused by an enzyme in the body called myeloperoxidase, which fights bacteria by producing an acid that can damage tissue and lead to asthma, arthritis, and thickening of artery walls.
earwax
There are two different types of earwax: dry and wet. Individuals produce only one type or the other during their lifetimes, and the type of earwax appears to be an inherited trait. A 1966 Japanese study found that people who produced dry earwax were at greater risk of arterial thickening than those who produced wet earwax. No other study since then has confirmed these findings; indeed, a subsequent peer review concluded that the results should be viewed with suspicion. However, when one considers all the other rare indicators of heart disease, certainly the type of earwax an individual produces is no more rare than any other potential risk factor.
Cardiovascular disease is a serious and life-threatening condition that should never be taken lightly. However, these unusual risk factors can surely add some levity to the conversation.