Determining the Protective Role of Grip Strength in Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease Risk Among Middle-Aged and Older Women in South Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Handgrip strength is a simple measure of muscle function and health outcomes in older adults. Here, we investigated whether higher handgrip strength is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular (CVD) and cerebrovascular (CeVD) diseases in middle-aged and older adults by focusing on its potential protective role in women. METHODS: We analyzed data for approximately 9,500 participants of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (aged ≥ 45 years, no CVD/CeVD at baseline). Handgrip strength was measured in multiple waves and treated as time-varying exposure. Cross-sectional logistic regression was used to evaluate baseline associations, while Cox regression models with time-varying handgrip strength were used to assess the 16-year incidences of CVD and CeVD after adjusting for major confounders. The analyses were stratified according to sex. RESULTS: A higher handgrip strength was inversely associated with baseline CVD and CeVD prevalence (odds ratio, ~ 0.94–0.96 per 1-kg increase; p < 0.001). Over a 16-year follow-up, each 1-kg increase in handgrip strength predicted a lower hazard of CeVD (hazard ratio [HR], ~ 0.98) that was driven by a significant protective effect in women (HR, ~ 0.95) versus no association in men. Similarly, a higher handgrip strength predicted a lower CVD risk in women (HR, ~ 0.97) but not men. CONCLUSION: Greater handgrip strength was associated with lower risks of CVD and CeVD later in life. Although the associations appeared stronger in women, these differences should be interpreted cautiously given potential scaling effects. Handgrip strength may be a simple and clinically practical functional marker for vascular risk stratification in middle-aged and older adults.