Handgrip strength, functional capacity and cognitive status of centenarians

Objective: To compare and correlate handgrip strength (HGS) with functional capacity and cognitive status in centenarians. Method: This is a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of 127 centenarians, of which 78 met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 101.7 ± 2.52 years. Cognitive status was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and functional capacity using the Katz Scale. To investigate HGS, we used a manual dynamometer. The level of significance was 5%. Results: Centenarian men have higher right (p= 0.005) and left (p<0.001) HGS compared to women. About functional capacity, centenarians more functional present higher right and left HGS (p<0.001) when compared to intermediate and less functional. Furthermore, when analyzing cognition, centenarians with preserved cognitive status have higher right and left HGS (p<0.001) than cognitively impaired elderly. In the relationship analysis, it was possible to verify that the lower the MMSE score, the higher the right (rho= 0.59; p<0.001) and left (rho= 0.57; p<0.001) HGS. Furthermore, the lower the Katz Scale score, the higher the right (rho= -0.53; p<0.001) and left (rho= -0.57; p<0.001) HGS. Conclusion: Our results show that male centenarians, more functional and with preserved cognitive status have higher HGS in both hands. Moreover, we found a moderate negative relationship between HGS and functional capacity and a moderate positive relationship between HGS and cognitive status of centenarians.