216 Hand strength, is it time to get a grip?

Abstract

Background: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are at risk of reduced Fat Free Mass (FFM) which is a marker of skeletal muscle mass. Associations between lung function and body composition using either DEXA or bioelectrical impedance (BIA) have previously been reported in CF patients however hand-grip strength (HGS) assessment is not routinely utilised. Aim: To identify the potential use of HGS as a tool to help identify altered body composition in CF patients. Method: Body composition (FFM calculated as fat free mass index (FFMI)) using BIA and HGS were assessed at annual review in 118 adult patients attending AWACFC. Gender, age, pancreatic status, body mass index (BMI) and FEV1% data were collected. Results: 118 patients (73 male) were assessed with mean (SD) age 28.7 years (10.0), FEV1% of 66.6% (24.9), BMI 23.6 kg/m2 (5.9), FFMI 17.8 kg/m2 (2.4) and HGS of 33.9 kg (10.3). 104 (88%) were pancreatic insufficient. HGS strongly correlated with FFM (r = 0.77) and FFMI (r = 0.64) (both p 0.05). However, analysing the females alone FEV1% did correlate with HGS (r = 0.44, p = 0.002). Conclusion: HGS is a cheap, portable, quick and reliable tool which appears to correlates well with FFM and FFMI as measured by BIA. Its strong correlations with FFM may suggest it has potential as a surrogate marker of skeletal muscle mass and it may be a useful adjunct in identifying patients where there is possible loss of FFM. Further longitudinal studies are required.