Hand grip strength: Age and gender stratified normative data in Anatolian population

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is twofold; first we aimed to provide age and gender specific normative hand grip strength (HGS) data in Anatolian adult population and secondly we aimed to determine the effects of gender and hand dominance on HGS. Patients and Methods: The study included 1359 adult healthy subjects, aged 18-90 years. A calibrated hydraulic hand dynamometer was used for the HGS measurements in accordance with current standardized instructions. The HGSs on sides, age, gender, and dexterity were recorded and statistically analyzed. Results: The subjects were 712 males and 647 females with a mean age of 41.8±15.9 years and 46.9±16.1 years, respectively. Left hand dominance was determined in 67 subjects. Male subjects were stronger than female subjects in each age stratified group (p: 0.001). HGS showed a significant decline as the age of the subjects increased (r=-0.463, p=0.0001 dominant hand, r=-0.472, p=0.0001 non-dominant hand). The dominant hand was stronger than the non-dominant hand (p=0.0001). The mean difference between the dominant and non-dominant hand was 8.5% (SD: 13.1, median 7.6%). The mean strength ratio between the dominant and non-dominant hand was 1.07±0.12 for males and 1.09±0.13 for females. Conclusions: This study is the largest study to present normative values of HGS in an Anatolian population. These findings can be used as a reference for future studies in an Anatolian population. HGS was seen to be higher in males and to decrease proportionally with age. The dominant hand is on average 8% stronger than the non-dominant hand in both genders and all age groups.