Height associated with different clinical expressions in primary antiphospholipid syndrome female patients

OBJECTIVE: To compare clini-cal and laboratory data obtained from patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (pAPS) above and below 165 cm of height. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study with 66 (83.3% female) pAPS patients was performed. Demographic, clinical, drug use, and antiphospholipid antibodies data were evalu-ated. Patients were subdivided into one of two groups: pAPS >= 165 cm and pAPS < 165 cm and compared. RESULTS: In this sample 19/66 (28.8%) of pa-tients were >= 165 cm and 47 were < 165 cm of height. Primary APS > 165 cm exhibited a low-er frequency of female sex (52.6% vs. 95.7%, p<0.0001) and abortions (0 vs. 34%, p=0.008). A significant higher frequency of antimalarial use was seen in taller patients compared to those < 165 cm (36.8% vs. 14.9%, p=0.04). Furthermore, the analysis of females showed lower mean age (32.3 +/- 9.9 vs. 41.3 +/- 10.5, p=0.016), higher weight (85.5 +/- 25.3 vs. 69.7 +/- 17.6 kg, p= 0.023), high -er frequency of venous events (100% vs. 66.7%, p=0.025) and lower rate of stroke (10% vs. 44.4%, p=0.043) in taller female than in the smaller. CONCLUSIONS: This study used a systemat-ic design to show that different heights in indi-viduals with pAPS are associated with different diseases' expressions. When analyzing females exclusively, the taller ones were younger, heavi-er with more venous events, and more minor strokes than the smaller ones.