Association of Grip Strength with All-Cause Mortality among Korean Adults with Disabilities

PURPOSE: This study utilized data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging to investigate the association between grip strength and all-cause mortality rates in adults with disabilities aged ≥ 45 years in Korea.METHODS: The study included 430 adults with disabilities without missing values in the mortality variable and no history of cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, or cardiovascular diseases (mean age 63.2 ± 10.0 years) for analysis. Data from the first to seventh waves were used in the analysis. Grip strength was measured using a dynamometer, and mortality status and date were recorded. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the association between grip strength and all-cause mortality rates to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs), considering potential confounding variables. Finally, a joint association between grip strength, obesity, and all-cause mortality was assessed.RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 9.09 ± 3.73 years, 135 adults with disabilities died. After adjusting all possible confounding variables, the HR of the group with the highest grip strength was significantly lower (HR: .36; 95% CI: .20-.65) than that of the group with the lowest grip strength. In the joint analysis, compared to the “weak and non-obese” group, the HRs (95% CIs) of all-cause mortality were .32 (.17-.62) and .27 (.10-.71) in the “strong and non-obese” and “strong and obese” groups, respectively.CONCLUSION: High grip strength in Korean adults with disabilities aged ≥45 years was significantly associated with a lower all-cause mortality risk, independent of obesity. Hence, grip strength may be a simple indicator of mortality risk; however, additional research using large-scale survey data is required.