https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2426-867X
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Abstract
Purpose
Handgrip strength (HGS) is indicative of overall physical health among older adults. A decrease in HGS may be associated with an increased risk of disease. The aim of this study is to determine the factors associated with HGS among older adults in Malaysia.
Patients and Methods
One thousand two hundred four (1204) participants from urban and rural areas in Selangor state, Malaysia, were recruited. Sociodemographic and health-related conditions were gathered through a comprehensive face-to-face interview, followed by HGS assessments by a handgrip dynamometer. Subsequently, multiple linear regression was used to test the main association with the HGS.
Results
A total of 691 participants (57.4%) were male, and 513 (42.6%) were female. Males had a mean HGS of 30.0 (SD 7.53) kg, and females had a mean HGS of 19.4 (SD 5.28) kg. Males’ handgrip strength was significantly reduced with increasing age, physically inactive, and diabetes (all at the level p<0.001) after adjusting for social-demographic characteristics and health-related variables. Meanwhile, for females, the HGS was significantly decreased with age (p<0.001), physically inactive (p<0.001) and hypertension (p=0.03). However, female HGS was positively related to BMI (p<0.001).
Conclusion
The study contributed to a better understanding of factors associated with HGS, and thus, the HGS is recommended as a section in the health evaluation among high-risk older adults as the strategy of disease control and prevention.
Keywords:
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone at the Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, who assisted with the survey. Additionally, we appreciate the cooperation and assistance of the heads of the respective residential areas in Selangor.
Disclosure
The study is funded by the World Health Organization Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe Centre – WKC), grant number 2018/863819-1. The funders had no role in the study’s design, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in relation to this work.