SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “hand grip strength”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Recovery of hand grip strength and hand steadiness after exhausting manual stretcher carriage.

Rescue activities frequently require not only substantial and sustained hand-grip forces but also a subtle coordination of hand and finger muscles, e.g. when manipulating injection syringes after manual stretcher carriage. We investigated the recovery kinetics of manual coordination and muscle strength after exhausting stretcher carriage (4.5 km/h, load at each handle bar: 25 kg). Hand steadiness (frequency and duration of wall contacts when holding a metal pin into a small bore) and parameters of hand-grip strength were determined in 15 male volunteers before and immediately after the stretcher carriage. Measurements were repeated after 0.5, 1, 4 and 24 h of recovery. Mean carrying time was 215+/-87 s (SD), mean transport distance amounted to 264+/-104 m. During the carriage test, forces at the stretcher handles oscillated in the order of +/-50 N within each gait cycle. Immediately after exhaustion, hand steadiness was significantly deteriorated (threefold increase in frequency and duration of wall contacts), maximum and mean hand-grip force over 15 s were reduced by almost 20%. While the recovery of hand steadiness was complete by minute 30 after stretcher carriage, a significant reduction in maximum and mean hand-grip force by 12% could still be observed after 24 h. The present findings demonstrate that hand steadiness recovers much faster than maximum hand-grip strength after exhaustive manual stretcher carriage (less than 30 min vs. more than 24 h). Probably, muscle damage induced in particular by the eccentric components during stretcher transport seems to affect only the generation of large forces. By contrast, the generation and coordination of the much lower forces required for hand-steadiness appears to be impaired only during the short transient of metabolic recovery.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Norms for hand grip strength.

Norms for hand grip strength of healthy children are presented. Sex and age specific centiles for age 5 to 18 years have been determined using a portable strain gauge dynamometer with an accuracy of 0.5 N. The test group comprised 1417 healthy, urban school children from a middle class suburb of Brisbane. Mean maximum grip strength (of four tests, two with each hand) and mean peak grip strength (best of four tests) were recorded. Mean values of peak grip strength were 10 to 15% higher than the average maximum grip in all age groups. At all ages girls had a reduced grip strength compared with boys and although boys manifested a continual, approximately linear increase in grip strength through all age groups, girls manifested an approximately linear increase up to 13 years after which mean hand grip usually remained constant. By the age of 18 years boys had a mean grip strength some 60% higher than girls. Correlations with height and weight are also presented. "Handedness' influenced grip strength and was most noticeable in children aged over 10 years. The clinical use of hand grip strength centiles for the early indication of neurological and muscular disorders and for following the natural history of neuromuscular disease is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Hand-grip strength of young men, women and highly trained female athletes.

Hand-grip strength has been identified as one limiting factor for manual lifting and carrying loads. To obtain epidemiologically relevant hand-grip strength data for pre-employment screening, we determined maximal isometric hand-grip strength in 1,654 healthy men and 533 healthy women aged 20-25 years. Moreover, to assess the potential margins for improvement in hand-grip strength of women by training, we studied 60 highly trained elite female athletes from sports known to require high hand-grip forces (judo, handball). Maximal isometric hand-grip force was recorded over 15 s using a handheld hand-grip ergometer. Biometric parameters included lean body mass (LBM) and hand dimensions. Mean maximal hand-grip strength showed the expected clear difference between men (541 N) and women (329 N). Less expected was the gender related distribution of hand-grip strength: 90% of females produced less force than 95% of males. Though female athletes were significantly stronger (444 N) than their untrained female counterparts, this value corresponded to only the 25th percentile of the male subjects. Hand-grip strength was linearly correlated with LBM. Furthermore, both relative hand-grip strength parameters (F (max)/body weight and F (max)/LBM) did not show any correlation to hand dimensions. The present findings show that the differences in hand-grip strength of men and women are larger than previously reported. An appreciable difference still remains when using lean body mass as reference. The results of female national elite athletes even indicate that the strength level attainable by extremely high training will rarely surpass the 50th percentile of untrained or not specifically trained men.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Occupational and other risk factors for hand-grip strength: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.

BACKGROUND: In certain occupations, including farm work, workers are exposed to hazardous substances, some of which are known to be toxic to the nervous system and may adversely affect muscle strength. Measurement of hand-grip strength may be useful for detecting neurotoxic exposure. METHODS: The authors studied 3522 participants of the Honolulu Heart Program and the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study to determine whether occupational exposures to pesticides, solvents, and metals assessed at exam I (1965-68) are associated with hand-grip strength at exam IV (1991-93) and change in hand-grip strength over 25 years. Correlation, analysis of variance and covariance, and linear regression were used to evaluate the associations. RESULTS: At exam IV, participants ranged in age from 71-93 years; mean hand-grip strength was 39.6 kg at exam I and 30.3 kg at exam IV. Over 25 years, the decline in hand-grip strength was an average of 8-9 kg for all exposures. Hand-grip strength was inversely associated with age and glucose but directly associated with cognitive function, BMI, and haemoglobin level. No other exposures were associated with hand-grip strength. CONCLUSION: This study did not provide evidence that occupational exposure to pesticides, solvents, and metals adversely affected hand-grip strength in this population, but confirmed other important associations with hand-grip strength.

Aged↗

PubMed2001

Dynamometer measurements of hand-grip strength predict multiple outcomes.

Hand-grip strength, which can be measured easily and objectively using a dynamometer, is predictive of multiple outcomes among a variety of subjects. Although the literature is not fully consistent, it tends to support grip strength as a predictor of postoperative complications, mortality, and functional decline. Hand-grip dynamometry may merit broader application as a screening procedure.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed1982

Finger flexion force and hand grip strength after tendon repair.

Isolated finger flexion force and hand grip strength were measured in a group of patients with flexor tendon lacerations treated by primary tendon repair. The results show that reduced isolated finger flexion force is much more common than reduced hand grip strength (66% and 26% respectively). Reduced finger flexion force is strongly correlated to elongation in tendon repair, to the range of motion in the distal interphalangeal joint, and to reduced hand grip strength in patients with lesions of both flexor tendons in one finger. Range of motion in the distal interphalangeal joint and hand grip strength in the individual patient are of little value for prediction of isolated finger flexion force, however. Hand grip strength is sufficient for evaluation of strength in many cases, but knowledge of finger flexion force is a valuable adjunct in analyzing patients with subjective and/or objective weakness in their hands after flexor tendon surgery.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Hand grip strength in the adult Malaysian population.

PURPOSE: To measure the hand grip strength of Malaysians aged 18 to 65 years. METHODS: Between January and April 2003, 412 subjects (200 women and 212 men) were recruited from staff, students, and visitors of the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Socioeconomic, general health, and lifestyle data were collected from each subject using a standard questionnaire. Weight and height were measured prior to testing. Standardised positioning and instructions based on several hand grip protocols were used. Data were collected using the LIDO kinetic work set. RESULTS: 93% of the subjects were right-hand dominant and 7% were left-hand dominant. Hand grip strength was significantly correlated with hand dominance, gender, occupation, height, and weight, but not body mass index. No significant differences in grip strength were noted with regard to race or level of income. Men were stronger than women in all age-groups, with a ratio of 1.75:1. In both right- and left-hand dominant groups, the dominant hand was consistently stronger than the non-dominant side, with a ratio of 1.12:1 in the right-hand dominant group and 1.05:1 in the left-hand dominant group. The strongest hand grip strength in the right-hand dominant group occurred in the age-group of 25 to 34 years; in the left-hand dominant group it was in the age-group of 18 to 24 years. In western populations, the mean grip strength can be as much as 1.5 times greater than in the Malaysian population. CONCLUSION: Data derived from western populations cannot be applied to a comparable Malaysian population. Gender, hand dominance, age, occupation, weight, and height must be considered when establishing normal values for grip strength.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hand grip strength--a simple prognostic indicator in surgical patients.

This study evaluates hand grip strength as an indicator of nutritional status and a predictor of postoperative complications. Hand grip strength and other parameters of nutritional status, namely, midarm muscle circumference, forearm muscle circumference, triceps skinfold, percentage ideal body weight, serum albumin, and percent usual weight were determined preoperatively in 205 patients. Complications occurred in 28 patients (14%). Patients with at least one abnormal nutritional parameter had a higher incidence of postoperative complications. Their length of total and postoperative hospitalization was greater by 6.2 and 4.6 days, respectively (p less than 0.01). Grip strength was the most sensitive single parameter, but forearm muscle circumference and percentage ideal body weight were the most specific indices. Hand grip strength is a simple measure of nutritional status and an accurate prognostic indicator that requires further clinical evaluation.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Alteration of period and amplitude of circadian rhythms in shift workers. With special reference to temperature, right and left hand grip strength.

48 male shift workers in various industries volunteered to document circadian rhythms in sleeping and working, oral temperature, grip strength of both hands, peak expiratory flow and heart rate. All physiological variables were self-measured 4 to 5 times a day for 2 to 4 weeks. Individual time series were analyzed according to several statistical methods (power spectrum, cosinor, chi squares, ANOVA, correlation, etc.) in order to estimate rhythm parameters such as circadian period (tau) and amplitude (A), and to evaluate subgroup differences with regard to tolerance to shift work, age, duration of shift work, speed of rotation and type of industry. The present study confirms for oral temperature and extends to other variables (grip strength of both hands, heart rate) that intolerance to shift work is frequently associated with both internal desynchronization and small circadian amplitude. The internal desynchronization among several circadian rhythms supports the hypothesis that these latter are driven by several oscillators. Many differences were observed between circadian rhythms in right and left hand grip strength: circadian tau in oral temperature was correlated with that in the grip strength of the dominant hand but not with that of the other hand; changes in tau s of the non-dominant hand were age-related but did not correlate with temperature tau; only the circadian A of the non-dominant hand was associated with a desynchronization. Thus, circadian rhythms in oral temperature and dominant hand grip strength may be driven by the same oscillator while that of the non-dominant hand may be governed by a different one. Internal desynchronization between both hand grip rhythms as well as desynchronization of performance rhythms reported by others provide indirect evidence that circadian oscillator(s) may be located in the human cerebral cortex.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Hand grip strength and incident ADL disability in elderly Mexican Americans over a seven-year period.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Little is known about muscle strength as a predictor of disability among older Mexican Americans. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hand grip strength and 7-year incidence of ADL disability in older Mexican American men and women. METHODS: A 7-year prospective cohort study of 2493 non-institutionalized Mexican American men and women aged 65 or older residing in five south-western states. Maximal hand grip strength test, body mass index, cognitive function, activities of daily living, self-reports of medical conditions (arthritis, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer, hip fracture), and depressive symptoms were obtained. RESULTS: In a Cox proportional regression analysis, there was a linear relationship between hand grip strength at baseline and risk of incident ADL disability over a 7-year follow-up. Among non-disabled men at baseline, the hazard ratio of any new ADL limitation was 1.90 (95% CI 1.14-3.17) for those in the lowest quartile, when compared with men in the highest hand grip strength quartile, after controlling for age, marital status, medical conditions, high depressive symptoms, MMSE score, and BMI at baseline. Among non-disabled women at baseline, the hazard ratio of any new ADL limitation was 2.28 (95% CI 1.59-3.27) for those in the lowest quartile, when compared with women in the highest hand grip strength quartile. CONCLUSIONS: Hand grip strength is an independent predictor of ADL disability among older Mexican American men and women. The hand grip strength test is an easy, reliable, valid, inexpensive method of screening to identify older adults at risk of disability.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

Stability and change in genetic and environmental influences on hand-grip strength in older male twins.

The aim of this study was to investigate aging-related changes in the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to hand-grip strength in late adulthood. Subjects in this study are 152 intact twin pairs (77 monozygotic and 75 dizygotic pairs) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Twin Study assessed repeatedly for hand-grip strength at mean ages of 63 and 73 yr. Structural equation genetic modeling was used to investigate stability and change in the genetic and environmental components of variance of hand-grip strength in late adulthood. Average decline in strength over the 10 yr of follow-up was -1.05+/-6.8 (SD) kg and was highly significant (P = 0.003). The test-retest correlation between baseline and follow-up grip strength was 0.62 (P<0.001). Bivariate genetic modeling found significant genetic and shared environmental stability in hand-grip strength over the 10 yr of follow-up, with genetic and shared environmental influences accounting for 35 and 48%, respectively, of the test-retest phenotypic correlation. We conclude from these results that stability in hand-grip strength in late adulthood is due primarily to continuity of genetic and familial influences.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

Hand grip strength: an indicator of nutritional state and the mix of postoperative complications in patients with oral and maxillofacial cancers.

The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of hand grip strength as an indicator of nutritional state, and to see if it was of any value in the prediction of postoperative complications. One-hundred and twenty-seven patients who presented with oral and maxillofacial cancer were studied for measurement of hand grip strength, mid-arm muscle circumference, and creatinine-height index. Hand grip strength correlated well with mid-arm muscle circumference and creatinine-height index. Patients whose hand grip strength was < 85% of the control value developed significantly more postoperative complications than those in whom it was 85% or more (15/31 (48%) compared with 12/65 (18%), P = 0.004). In conclusion, hand grip strength is not only a useful, non-invasive indicator of skeletal muscle mass, but may also be of use in predicting postoperative complications.

Anthropometry↗

PubMed1999

Midlife hand grip strength as a predictor of old age disability.

CONTEXT: Poor muscle strength, functional limitations, and disability often coexist, but whether muscle strength during midlife predicts old age functional ability is not known. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether hand grip strength measured during midlife predicts old age functional limitations and disability in initially healthy men. DESIGN AND SETTING: A 25-year prospective cohort study, the Honolulu Heart Program, which began in 1965 among Japanese-American men living on Oahu, Hawaii. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 608945- to 68-year-old men who were healthy at baseline and whose maximal hand grip strength was measured from 1965 through 1970. Altogether, 2259 men died over the follow-up period and 3218 survivors participated in the disability assessment in 1991 through 1993. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional limitations including slow customary walking speed (< or =0.4 m/s) and inability to rise from a seated position without using the arms, and multiple self-reported upper extremity, mobility, and self-care disability outcomes. RESULTS: After adjustment for multiple potential confounders, risk of functional limitations and disability 25 years later increased as baseline hand grip strength, divided into tertiles, declined. The odds ratio (OR) of walking speed of 0.4 m/s or slower was 2.87 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.76-4.67) in those in the lowest third and 1.79 (95% CI, 1.14-2.81) in the middle third of grip strength vs those in the highest third. The risk of self-care disability was more than 2 times greater in the lowest vs the highest grip strength tertile. Adding chronic conditions identified at follow-up to the models predicting disability reduced the ORs related to grip strength only minimally. CONCLUSIONS: Among healthy 45- to 68-year-old men, hand grip strength was highly predictive of functional limitations and disability 25 years later. Good muscle strength in midlife may protect people from old age disability by providing a greater safety margin above the threshold of disability.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

The impact of gender, body dimension and body composition on hand-grip strength in healthy children.

Maximum hand-grip (HG) strength, body composition and main anthropometric variables were evaluated in 278 children with normal weight and growth, aged 5-15 yr divided into 3 age groups: group 1, age+/-SD: 7.6+/-0.9 yr 7.6+/-0.9 SD (Tanner stage 1); group 2, age: 10.8+/-0.7 yr (Tanner stage: 2-3); group 3, age: 13.2+/-0.9 yr (Tanner stage: 4-5). Weight, height, body surface area (BSA), BMI, percent body fat (BF) and fat free mass (FFM) increased progressively and significantly from the younger to the older age group. A significant difference between genders was detected only for BF and FFM, females having a higher fat mass and a lower FFM compared to males. Most children were right-handed (91%). In either genders, a curvilinear relation was detected between HG strength and age, with best fit for the dominant (d) hand given by the equations: dHG=5.891 *10(0.051) age, r2=0.986, p<0.001 in males and dHG=6.163 *10(0.045) age r2=0.973, p<0.001 in females. The increase in HG strength after 11 yr appears to be steeper in males as compared with that found in females. In both d and non-dominant (nd) hand, a significant difference in HG strength was detected between males and females, the average difference being about 10% at all ages. For both genders, nd hand was significantly weaker than d hand in the older age groups (2 and 3), but not in the younger group 1. Age and gender-dependent differences in HG strength (but not differences between d and nd hand) disappear if HG strength is normalized for FFM. Thus, in general, dHG strength normalized for FFM resulted on average to be 0.67+/-0.11 kg/kg. A multiple linear regression analysis indicated that HG was positively correlated with BMI, BSA, stature, stature2 and FFM (p<0.001 for all correlations) without differences between genders, while a negative correlation was found between HG strength and %BF. The most significant correlation was found between HG strength and FFM, without any significant difference between genders, so that the overall equation describing the line for the d hand was: dHG strength= 2.32+0.63 FFM, r2=0.72, p<0.001. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the age-dependent increase of HG strength as well as the between-gender differences are strongly related to changes of FFM values occurring during childhood. Moreover, the study provides a standard normative value of maximal HG strength for the healthy children population in Northern Italy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Hand-grip strength predicts incident disability in non-disabled older men.

OBJECTIVES: To verify if hand-grip performance in older men is a predictor of disability. DESIGN: Population-based prospective study. SETTING: A sample from the Italian rural cohorts of the FINE study (Finland, Italy, Netherlands Elderly), representative of the general population of elderly men surveyed in 1991 and 1995. PARTICIPANTS: 140 men aged 71-91 years who reported no disability in performing activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activity of daily living (IADLs) and mobility activities at baseline examination and provided information on their functional status at follow-up 4 years later. MEASUREMENTS: Disability was defined as needing help in performing ADLs, IADLs and mobility. Hand-grip strength was evaluated at baseline by a mechanical dynamometer. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounding variables, a lower concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was the only factor predicting disability in men aged 76 years or younger and only reduced hand-grip strength predicted incident disability in men 77 years or older. CONCLUSION: Poor hand strength as measured by hand-grip is a predictor of disability in older people. The hand-grip test is an easy and inexpensive screening tool to identify elderly people at risk of disability.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1994

Placebo effect on the circadian rhythm period tau of temperature and hand-grip strength rhythms: interindividual and gender-related difference.

Two different medications, one assumed to be a tranquilizer and the other an antifatigue agent, were tested. Both were found to be ineffective and thus were viewed as placebos and named P1 and P2. The effect of P1 and P2 on the circadian rhythms of a set of variables (e.g., sleep/wake, oral temperature and grip strength of both hands) were monitored by five to 10 measurements per day over three consecutive 8- to 10-day spans. The first documented span was a control (no medication), and the second and third spans (in randomized order) were under P1 and P2. Healthy subjects volunteered for the studies: nine men and seven women (median age 28 years) in study 1 and 12 men and 12 women (median age 36 years) in study 2. They were synchronized with diurnal activity from 07:00 h (+/- 30 min) to 00:00 h (+/- 1 h) and nocturnal rest. De Prins' method was used to obtain the prominent period tau in each (control, P1, and P2) individual time series. The chi 2 test was used to test group and subgroup differences. All 40 subjects exhibited a significant sleep/wake rhythm with a tau = 24 h in control, P1, and P2 series. During the control span a gender-related statistically significant difference was observed: fewer men than women exhibited a temperature rhythm desynchronized from 24 h. In addition, more women than men had a tau < 24 h during control. The gender-related difference was obliterated by placebos. Similarly desynchronized circadian rhythms of left and right hand-grip strength were observed in both men and women during the control span, which were all obliterated by placebo but only in men. Results are discussed with regard to a genetic model of human dyschronism as proposed by the authors.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Hand grip strength in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to compare hand grip strength and pinch power, which are important parameters of hand function, in 76 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (mean age: 50.11+/-7.6) with 47 non-diabetic control subjects (mean age: 46.93+/-10.2). METHODS: Grip strength was assessed with a Jamar dynamometer and pinch power was measured with a pinch gauge. Body composition was measured using a Tanita body composition analyzer. Mann-Whitney test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, T-test, Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis, Wilcoxon's signed rank test and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to determine the differences and relations between groups. A p-value <0.05 was taken as statistically significant. RESULTS: Hand grip strength test values were significantly lower in the diabetic group compared with the control group. Key pinch power value for the right hand was significantly lower in the diabetic group than in the control group whereas the left hand value was similar. CONCLUSION: Hand grip strength and key pinch power values were found to be lower in patients with T2DM than in age-matched control subjects. Hands, as well as feet, are also affected by diabetes and physicians should be aware of this.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Digit ratio and hand-grip strength in German and Mizos men: cross-cultural evidence for an organizing effect of prenatal testosterone on strength.

The ratio of the length of the second and fourth digits (2D:4D), a putative proxy of prenatal testosterone (PT), is correlated with measures of physical fitness. The relationship between the organizing effect of PT on physical fitness is likely to arise as a response to intrasexual male competition for females. Physical strength is also likely to be important in intrasexual conflict, but nothing is known concerning the relationship between 2D:4D and strength. The strength of an individual is strongly influenced by body size, and 2D:4D is strongly dependent on ethnicity. We present evidence that strength, as measured from hand-grip strength, is related to 2D:4D in samples from two ethnic groups (52 Caucasian men from Germany, and 88 Oriental Mizos men from northeast India) which differed markedly in size. We found that 1) the German men were heavier and stronger, but had higher 2D:4D (lower PT) than the Mizos men; 2) a median split for grip strength into low (LGS) and high (HGS) groups showed that for right-hand 2D:4D (but not left-hand 2D:4D), the LGS men had higher 2D:4D than the HGS men; and 3) the relationships between right 2D:4D and grip strength were independent of ethnicity, age, height, and weight. Measures of grip strength correlate strongly with strength in other muscle groups, so we conclude that PT may have an early organizing effect on strength in men, and this is likely to be widespread in human groups.

Adult↗