Grip strength is a surrogate marker of overall muscle power. There is evidence that an individual’s muscle power correlates well with potential for disease and mortality in the long run. There are many measurements that can give us an index of risk for future disease: BP, body weight and blood sugar are some commonly used parameters. Can grip strength be another?

1. Grip strength is a surrogate marker of overall muscle power.
There is evidence that an individual’s muscle power correlates
well with potential for disease and mortality in the long run.
There are many measurements that can give us an index of risk
for future disease: BP, body weight and blood sugar are some
commonly used parameters. Can grip strength be another?
Can your hand grip strength predict risk of dying
from stroke and heart attack?
Measurement of grip strength is a
simple, inexpensive risk-stratifying
method for all-cause death,
cardiovascular events death, and
cardiovascular disease. These
findings present new directions for
exploring measures to prevent these
conditions.
Get a grip on the numbers
13,691 individuals
17 countries
Varying income and socio-cultural
settings
Followed for a median of 4 years.
3379 people (2%) died in this
period.
There was an increase in mortality for
every 5kg reduction in hand strength
with no association between grip
strength and diabetes or systolic BP.
Medi-culling: 17 May 2015
Dr Arjun Rajagopalan
16%OVERALL
MORTALITY
Negative effect of each
5 kg reduction in grip strength
17%CARDIOVASCULAR
MORTALITY
7%HEART ATTACK
RATE
9%STROKE
RATE
Jamar
dynamometer
Background
Grip strength can be assessed
objectively with various devices.
Grip strength can be measured
quickly and repeat measurements
can be made objectively.
Hand
grip
Digital
read out
Quo vadis?
How new is this?
Is this an improvement?
Will it work in practice?
Can I use it now?