Simple Grip Test Could Predict Cardiometabolic Risk

A quick, simple grip strength test may be an accurate predictor of cardiometabolic disease risk and physical disability, according to the results of a recent study.

Muscular strength has been suggested as a protective factor for health and function in the past. For this reason, researchers sought to determine whether normalized grip strength (NGS) may serve as a biomarker for cardiometabolic disease and physical disability in US and Chinese adults.
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The researchers cited the high prevalence of chronic disease in the US and China as the reason for their selected study populations.

They included 4544 US adults who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012 and 2013-2014, and 6030 Chinese adults from the 2011 wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Participants were all aged 50 years or older.

Grip strength was measured using handgrip dynamometer, which was normalized to body mass. The researchers used weighted logistic regression models to assess associations between NGS and diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol, hypertension, and physical disability.

Overall, every 0.05 reduction in NGS was independently associated with a 49% and 17% increased risk of diabetes, 46% and 11% increased risk of hyperglycemia, 15% and 11% increased risk of hypertriglyceridemia, 22% and 15% increased risk of low HDL cholesterol, 19% and 10% increased risk of hypertension, and 36% and 11% increased risk of disability for US and Chinese adults, respectively.

“NGS was robustly associated with both cardiometabolic disease risk and physical disabilities in US and Chinese aging adults,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Peterson MD, Duchowny K, Meng Q, Wang Y, Chen X, Zhao Y. Low normalized grip strength is a biomarker for cardiometabolic disease and physical disabilities among U.S. and Chinese adults [published online March 10, 2017]. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glx031.