Handgrip Strength References for Middle-Age and Older Chinese Individuals

Handgrip strength (HGS) is an important indicator of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality, and it is a simple, inexpensive method for assessing the risk of death in a number of countries and populations, particularly among older people who develop major illnesses. 1 Leong D.P. Teo K.K. Rangarajan S. et al. Prognostic value of grip strength: Findings from the prospective urban rural epidemiology (PURE) study. Lancet. 2015; 386: 266-273 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (983) Google Scholar Height is a reflection of the bone structure, and bone mass also has demonstrated implications for muscular and strength performance. 2 Han D. Chang K. Li C. et al. Skeletal muscle mass adjusted by height correlated better with muscular functions than that adjusted by body weight in defining sarcopenia. Sci Rep. 2016; 6: 19457 Crossref PubMed Scopus (72) Google Scholar The handgrip strength index (HGSI) is an effective and convenient parameter for predicting the functional nutritional status and muscular health of patients with Crohn disease, and it could be a potential marker of malnutrition. 3 Lu Z.L. Wang T.R. Qiao Y.Q. et al. Handgrip strength index predicts nutritional status as a complement to body mass index in Crohn’s disease. J Crohns Colitis. 2016; 10: 1395-1400 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar HGS differs greatly among geographic regions and ethnic groups; therefore, individual HGS measurements should be interpreted using region- and ethnic-specific references. 4 Leong D.P. Teo K.K. Rangarajan S. et al. Reference ranges of handgrip strength from 125,462 healthy adults in 21 countries: A prospective urban rural epidemiologic (PURE) study. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2016; 7: 535-546 Crossref PubMed Scopus (159) Google Scholar Grip strength norms are stratified by age and sex 5 Yu R. Ong S. Cheung O. et al. Reference values of grip strength, prevalence of low grip strength, and factors affecting grip strength values in Chinese adults. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2017; 18: 551.e9-551.e16 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (36) Google Scholar ; height may also be taken into account to provide more refined norms. 6 Bohannon R.W. Muscle strength: Clinical and prognostic value of hand-grip dynamometry. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2015; 18: 465-470 Crossref PubMed Scopus (280) Google Scholar To date, there is no reference for HGS in middle-age or older people in China. Therefore, we aimed to establish reference values for HGS after age- and sex-stratification for Chinese persons 45 years of age and older by applying large-scale, nationally representative, population-based data.