Abstract
Simple SummaryFunctional impairment is a growing global problem that increases with age and acute hospitalisations. Handgrip strength (HGS) is one of the tests used as a predictor of low skeletal muscle strength in the diagnosis of weakness. The aim of this study is to provide reference values of HGS in adults and older adults in the Basque Country by identifying cut-off points to measure weakness and compare the values with other populations. A health-promoting programme seems to be effective in obtaining better values as age increases with respect to the general population in the HGS test, delaying and even avoiding reaching the cut-off values for detecting weakness as a criterion for frailty. Despite the current findings available to health professionals for more effective detection of frailty, many of them have not been yet translated into clinical practice. Determining HGS values by population will allow to obtain clinically fast and effective cut-off values to detect weakness and probable risk in an ageing population.Strength training is currently the most recommended primary therapeutic strategy to prevent and reverse the decline of muscle mass, strength, and functional deterioration associated with age. The aim is to provide reference values of handgrip strength (HGS) in the Basque Country population and compare the values with other populations. A total of 1869 subjects from the health-promoting programme for adults and older adults run by the Bilbao City Council were assessed using HGS with a digital dynamometer and anthropometric data measured by Tanita to obtain the mean values according to age distribution. From the 1869 subjects, 87.5% were women and 12.5% men. The HGS was higher among men than women, 32.4 ± 6.6 versus 20.1 ± 4.7 kg, respectively, p < 0.001 at all ages. Weak HGS cut-off points by age groups ranged from 31.0 to 23.8 and from 18.9 to 12.4 in men and women, respectively. The sample data were compared (d, t, and α) with those of other populations in all age groups (group > 60 years at 95% df, p < 0.05). A health-promoting programme appears to be effective in the general population in obtaining better values in the HGS test as age increases.
Highlights
Today’s multiple sedentary behaviours lead to an exponential increase in morbidity and mortality risk rates [1,2,3,4]
Older adults who engage in physical exercise have better physiological function than sedentary adults [8,17], and it has even been observed that physical exercise interventions with hospitalised older adults have proven effective in reversing the functional impairment [18] and functional disability [19] associated with hospitalisation [13]
This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study, in which the dynamometric and anthropometric measurements were collected from a group of adults and older adults on a health-promoting programme, which were compared with reference measurements from a similar population in other countries
Summary
Today’s multiple sedentary behaviours lead to an exponential increase in morbidity and mortality risk rates [1,2,3,4]. Increased HGS has been associated with significant improvements in parameters such as high-density. Functional capacity is a tool for assessing frailty [11,12], presenting itself as a vulnerable state where disability, risk of falls, hospitalisation, institutionalisation, and mortality arise [12,13,14,15]. Functional impairment is a growing global problem that increases with age and acute hospitalisations [16]. We cannot consider age as a problem for significantly improving muscle mass and functional capacity [20,21], since the decrease in strength is due more to a lack of nerve stimulation than to alteration of muscle fibre [22]
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