Abstract
BackgroundHandgrip strength is indicative of overall physical health and mobility in the elderly. A reduction in strength below a certain threshold severely increases the risk of mobility limitations and is predictive for adverse outcomes such as dependence in daily activities and mortality. An overview of age- and geography- specific handgrip strength values in older adults provide a reference for further investigations and measures in clinical practice to identify people at risk for clinically meaningful weakness. The aim of this study was to evaluate handgrip strength in the Swiss-German population aged 75 and over.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, maximal isometric handgrip strength of the dominant hand was evaluated in 244 Swiss people aged 75 years and over (62.7% women), with mean age (SD) of 84.5 (5.6) years in men and 83.1 (5.9) years in women. Demographic data and information about comorbidities, medication, fall history, global cognitive function, self-reported physical activity and dependence in activities of daily living were collected, and correlated with grip strength measures. Age- and gender specific grip strength values are reported as means, standard deviations and standard error of mean.ResultsSex-stratified handgrip strength was significantly lower with advancing age in men (p < .01), from 37.7 (6.5) kg to 25.6 (7.6) kg and in women (p < .01) from 22.2 (4.0) kg to 16.5 (4.7) kg. Handgrip strength in our sample was significantly higher than in Southern European countries. Handgrip strength was independently associated with age, height and ADL dependence in men and women. Overall, 44% of men and 53% of women had handgrip strength measures that were below the clinically relevant threshold for mobility limitations.ConclusionThis study reports the age- and sex-stratified reference values for handgrip strength in a representative sample of the Swiss population, aged 75–99 years. Although grip strength decreased with advancing age in both sexes; the relative decline was greater in men than women. Nonetheless men had significantly higher grip strength in all age groups. While the Swiss population sampled had greater grip strength than that reported in other European countries, about 50% were still classified as at risk of mobility limitations.
Highlights
Handgrip strength is indicative of overall physical health and mobility in the elderly
There were no differences between sexes for age, global cognitive function, dependence in activities in daily living, amount of people living in assisted-living facilities, taking sedative medication or experiencing a fall but males were significantly taller, heavier, stronger, more physically active and had less hand osteoarthritis than females
Handgrip strength in men significantly correlated with age (ρ = −.41, p < .01), height (ρ = .31, p < .01) and activities of daily living (ADL) dependence (ρ = −.42, p < .01)
Summary
Handgrip strength is indicative of overall physical health and mobility in the elderly. A reduction in strength below a certain threshold severely increases the risk of mobility limitations and is predictive for adverse outcomes such as dependence in daily activities and mortality. Increased physical activity and resistance exercise have been shown to improve muscle strength and -function even in older people with severe disability [6]. Low handgrip strength is indicative for decline of upper extremity strength [8] and lower extremity function [9] with high predictive value of adverse outcomes [10]. Low grip strength is related to poor mobility of the elderly [13] and dependence in activities of daily living [14], and even predicts decline in body function and mortality [10]
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