Hand grip strength before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection in community-dwelling older adults.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the association between SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and decreased hand grip strength (HGS).DesignLongitudinal population‐based study.SettingCommunity‐dwelling older adults (aged ≥60 years) living in a rural Ecuadorian village struck by the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic.ParticipantsOf 282 enrolled individuals, 254 (90%) finished the study.MeasurementsHGS was measured 3 months before (January 2020) and 9 months after the introduction of the virus into the population (January 2021). SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody testing was performed in two rounds: in May–June (early) and September–November (late), 2020. An independent association between SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and HGS decline was assessed by fitting linear mixed models for longitudinal data. Changes in HGS scores in SARS‐CoV‐2 seropositive subjects, according to the time elapsed since seroconversion, were compared with those who remained seronegative.ResultsOverall, 149 (59%) individuals became seropositive for SARS‐CoV‐2. The mean HGS (in kg) was 25.3 ± 8.3 at baseline and 23.7 ± 8.1 at follow‐up (p = 0.028), with 140 individuals having >5% HGS decline between both measurements. The follow‐up HGS measurement decreased by 1.72 kg in seropositive individuals, and by 0.57 kg in their seronegative counterparts (p < 0.001). SARS‐CoV‐2 seropositive individuals were 2.27 times more likely (95% CI: 1.33–3.87) to have a lower HGS measurement at the time of follow‐up than those who remained seronegative. When compared with seronegative subjects, seropositive patients with early seroconversion were 3.41 times (95% CI: 1.73–6.74) more likely to have >5% HGS decline at the time of the follow‐up than those with later, i.e., more recent, infections.ConclusionsThis study shows an independent deleterious impact of SARS‐CoV‐2 on HGS that is more marked among individuals with infections that occurred more than 8 months before follow‐up HGS. Results suggest the possibility of chronic damage to skeletal muscles by SARS‐CoV‐2.