Comparative study of the manual handgrip force in individuals with Down syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: The strength of manual handgrip has showed to be important for constituting a relevant indicator to assess the strength of the subjects carrying Down syndrome. The objective of this study was to compare the strength of the manual handgrip between left and right hands of men and women carriers of the Down syndrome (DS), in the cities of Itaperuna and Bom Jesus do Itabapoana, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Materials and Methods: In this comparative study of transversal cut, 28 subjects, all carriers of DS, moderately active, 12 of whom were females aging between 14 and 38 years (24.08±6.77) and 16 males aging between 14 and 44 years (27.13±8.83) were investigated. All subjects were enrolled in Associacao dos Pais e Amigos dos Excepcionais in their respective counties. Muscle strength was evaluated by dynamometry with the handgrip. Results: The analysis of the two-way variant showed significant difference (p<0.05) between genders (male versus female) on the right (p=0.001) and left hand (p=0.001), with higher values found in the male gender. Discussion: The male bearers of DS showed an average of the isometric strength of the handgrip superior to the female subjects in both right and left hands.