• ischaemic stroke
• adult height

There is much interest in the association between exposures over the life course and risk of later disease. Attained adult height is determined by both genetic potential and growth in childhood. The latter is a useful marker of childhood circumstances, and consequently if associations between adult height and stroke are found they provide support for the hypothesis that exposures acting in childhood are important determinants of risk of stroke. Findings on this have been mixed although more recent studies have reported inverse associations for risk of stroke in men.1 2 A British study reported similar, although less impressive, associations.3 Only one of these studies could distinguish between ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes, but adjustment for socioeconomic position—an important potential confounder—could not be made.1 We report on the association between attained height and risk of stroke in a representative sample of middle age British men.