Normative reference values of handgrip strength for Brazilian older people aged 65 to 90 years: Evidence from the multicenter Fibra‑BR study

International norms for adult handgrip strength: A systematic review of data on 2.4 million adults aged 20 to 100+ years from 69 countries and regions

BACKGROUND

Muscular strength is a powerful marker of current health status and robust predictor of age-related disease and disability. Handgrip strength (HGS) using isometric dynamometry is a convenient, feasible, and widely used method of assessing muscular strength among people of all ages. While adult HGS norms have been published for many countries, no study has yet synthesized available data to produce international norms. The objective of this study was to generate international sex- and age-specific norms for absolute and body size-normalized HGS across the adult lifespan.

METHODS

Systematic searches were conducted in 6 databases/web search engines (MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Google Scholar) up to December 1, 2023. We included full-text peer-reviewed observational studies that reported normative HGS data for adults aged ≥20 years by sex and age. Pseudo data were generated using Monte Carlo simulation following harmonization for methodological variation. Population-weighted Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape were used to develop sex- and age-specific norms for absolute HGS (kg) and HGS normalized by height (Ht, m) squared (i.e., HGS/Ht2 in kg/m2). Norms were tabulated as percentile values (5th to 95th) and visualized as smoothed percentile curves.

RESULTS

We included data from 100 unique observational studies representing 2,405,863 adults (51.9% female) aged 20 to 100+ years from 69 countries and regions tested from the year 2000 onward. On average, absolute and normalized HGS values negligibly improved throughout early adulthood, peaked from age 30-39 years (at 49.7 kg (males) and 29.7 kg (females) for absolute HGS or 16.3 kg/m2 (males) and 11.3 kg/m2 (females) for HGS/Ht2), and declined afterwards. The age-related decline in HGS accelerated from middle to late adulthood and was slightly larger for males than for females during middle adulthood.

CONCLUSION

This study provides the world's largest and most geographically comprehensive international norms for adult HGS by sex and age. These norms have utility for global peer-comparisons, health screening, and surveillance.

Validity and reliability of SEIS-3: An instrument for subjective measuring of strength in older adults

The use of rating of perceived exertion (RPE) has grown substantially, providing a valuable alternative for exercise intensity monitoring, especially for older adults. However, some challenges, such as cross-cultural validity, age-related differences, and reliability issues, necessitate the development of a concise and user-friendly RPE instrument, particularly for strength training in this population. This study aimed to validate the Subjective Effort Induction Scale (SEIS-3), a simplified tool for measuring effort during strength training. SEIS-3 is a graded instrument with three exertion levels: 1) Light effort, 2) Moderate effort, and 3) Strong effort. Twenty seniors, aged 71±7 years, of both genders participated in the study (CEP/Unimontes 2,741,071/2018). We collected maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC) data using a digital dynamometer. Subsequently, participants underwent the initial test, following the three SEIS-3 categories in a randomly assigned order of induced subjective effort. SEIS-3 instrument was evaluated by the approaches:•Linear regression analysis: employed to assess the validity of the instrument.•Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC): employed to assess the reliability of the instrument.SEIS-3 effort categories correlated with MIVC in both hands (R2=0.80, F = 25.596, df=3, p < 0.01 for right hand; R2=0.56, F = 9.132, p < 0.01 for left hand). Test-retest reliability for grip strength across effort categories was excellent (ICC > 0.9). SEIS-3 is a valid and reliable user-friendly tool for accurately assessing and regulating exercise intensity in older adults during strength tasks, benefiting their health, functional capacity, and overall quality of life. This low-cost instrument can help health professionals in their activities.

Identification of the needs and priorities of older people and stakeholders in rural and urban areas of Santo Andre, Brazil

BACKGROUND

There are few data reporting the needs and priorities of older adults in Brazil. This hampers the development and/or implementation of policies aimed at older adults to help them age well. The aim of this study was to understand areas of importance, priorities, enablers and obstacles to healthy ageing as identified by older adults and key stakeholders in both urban and rural environments.

METHODS

Two locations were selected, one urban and one rural in the municipality of Santo André, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo (SP). Workshops for older adults (>60 y) and stakeholders were conducted separately in each location. The workshops incorporated an iterative process of discussion, prioritisation and ranking of responses, in roundtable groups and in plenary. Areas of commonality and differences between older adult and stakeholder responses were identified by comparing responses between groups as well as mapping obstacles and enablers to healthy ageing identified by older adults, to the priorities identified by stakeholder groups. The socio-ecologic model was used to categorise responses.

RESULTS

There were few shared responses between stakeholders and older adults and little overlap between the top ranked responses of urban and rural groups. With respect to areas of importance, both stakeholder groups ranked policies for older people within their top five reponses. Both older adult groups ranked keeping physically and mentally active, and nurturing spirituality. There was a marked lack of congruence between older adults' obstacles and enablers to healthy ageing and stakeholder priorities, in both urban and rural settings. Most responses were located within the Society domain of the socio-ecologic model, although older adults also responded within the Individual/ Relationships domains, particularly in ranking areas of most importance for healthy ageing.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight substantial differences between older adults and stakeholders with respect to areas of importance, priorities, enablers and obstacles to healthy ageing, and point to the need for more engagement between those in advocacy and policymaking roles and the older people whose needs they serve.

[Normative values for handgrip strength in Colombian older adults: Estimation by quantile regression]

INTRODUCTION

Handgrip strength is a robust indicator of the biological health of elderly.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) estimate the normative values of absolute and relative handgrip strength, specific to adults over 60 years of age in Colombia, using quantile regression models: 2) compare the normative values of absolute and relative handgrip strength in Colombian older adults with those from different countries.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis of a sample of 5377 older adults. Handgrip strength was evaluated with a TKK 5101 digital dynamometer (Takei Scientific Instruments Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Relative handgrip strength was estimated by dividing by weight in kilograms. The absolute and relative handgrip strength normative values were estimated through quantile regression models for the percentiles P5, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90 and P95, they were developed independently for each sex; all analyzes were adjusted for the expansion factor.

RESULTS

Absolute handgrip strength values were considerably higher in men (P50 60-64 years = 32.0 kg, P50 >85 years = 18.0 kg) compared to women (P50 60-65 years = 19.0 kg; P50 >85 years = 12.0 kg), in all age groups. Additionally, as age increases in both sexes, there is a decrease in the values of absolute and relative manual grip strength.

CONCLUSIONS

The estimated normative values in the Colombian population were generally lower than those reported in other studies around the world. These results could be related with methodologies used variability to evaluate handgrip strength and the estimation methods, which could influence the discrepancies between the different reports.

Relationship between the preoperative grip strength and postoperative shoulder strength of patients treated via reverse shoulder arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

Systemic disorders including diabetes mellitus, obesity, and depression affect the outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). Sarcopenia (a general skeletal muscle disorder) is common in elderly people, but its effect on patients after RSA is not clear. We hypothesized that the preoperative sarcopenia indices of grip strength and general skeletal muscle mass would correlate with the clinical outcomes of RSA.

METHODS

Grip strength and general skeletal muscle mass were measured in patients scheduled (between 2016 and 2021) for primary RSA to treat cuff tear arthropathy, an unrepairable cuff tear, or osteoarthritis with a large cuff tear. Before surgery, grip strength was measured using a hydraulic dynamometer and general skeletal muscle mass was calculated from the appendicular relative skeletal muscle mass index (aRSMI) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In all, 58 patients were included; the minimal follow-up duration was 12 months. The postoperative clinical results (pain, active range of motion, shoulder strength, and functional scores) were evaluated during scheduled outpatient visits. We calculated correlations between the preoperative sarcopenia indices, and the clinical results at the final follow-up.

RESULTS

The mean preoperative grip strength and aRSMI were 21.6 ± 4.0 kg and 5.98 ± 0.84 kg/m2 in females and 30.6 ± 7.5 kg and 7.21 ± 0.94 kg/m2 in males, respectively; the grip strength and aRSMI were not associated with each other (P = .083). Ten females (25%) and 10 males (56%) met the criteria for sarcopenia. The postoperative abduction shoulder strength and Constant-Murley shoulder score increased significantly with higher preoperative grip strength (R = 0.420 and P = .001; and R = 0.497 and P < .001, respectively) and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score was related to the preoperative aRSMI (R = 0.320, P = .039).

CONCLUSIONS

The shoulder strength and functional score after RSA correlated positively with the preoperative grip strength. Measuring grip strength before RSA allows the surgeon to predict shoulder strength after RSA.

Prevalence of dynapenia and overlap with disability, depression, and executive dysfunction

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate handgrip strength and dynapenia prevalence among older adults stratified by Brazilian macroregions. Additionally, we aim to evaluate the overlap between dynapenia and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) disability, depression, and executive dysfunction on a national basis and by each Brazilian macroregion.

METHODS

This cross-sectional analysis was based on data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil). A multistage cluster sample design was used, with a representative population-based study of non-institutionalized community-dwelling Brazilians aged ≥ 50 years from 70 municipalities across all five macroregions of the country. The outcome variable was dynapenia. Covariables were IADL disability, depression, and executive dysfunction. The Brazilian macroregions were used for stratification. In addition, the following additional variables were included: age group, gender, education level, macroregions (North, Northeast, Southeast, South, and Midwest), self-reported health, multimorbidity, and falls.

RESULTS

A total of 8,849 (94%) of the sample provided complete information for the handgrip strength assessment and were included in this analysis. Dynapenia prevalence was higher in North and Northeast regions (28.5% and 35.1%, respectively). We identified statistically significant differences between different macroregions for dynapenia, IADL disability, and verbal fluency, with worse values in the North and Northeast regions. In the North and Northeast macroregions, nearly half of the subjects that presented executive dysfunction and IADL disability also had dynapenia. There was a more significant overlap in the prevalence of all four conditions in the North and Northeast regions (4.8% and 5.5%, respectively), whereas the overlap was smaller in the South (2.3%). There was also a smaller overlap in the prevalence of dynapenia and depression in the South (5.8%) compared with other macroregions.

CONCLUSIONS

Macroregions in Brazil exhibit marked differences in the prevalence of dynapenia and in its overlap with IADL disability, depression, and executive dysfunction.

Nationwide handgrip strength values and factors associated with muscle weakness in older adults: findings from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil)

BACKGROUND

Handgrip strength (HGS) is a simple, quick, inexpensive, and highly reliable method for the assessment of muscle strength in clinical practice and epidemiological studies. This study aimed at describing the HGS values by age group and sex in Brazilians aged 50 years and over, determining age group- and sex-specific cutoff points for muscle weakness, and investigating sociodemographic and anthropometric variables associated with muscle weakness for each sex.

METHODS

Data from the second wave of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil) were analyzed. HGS was measured in the dominant hand using a hydraulic hand dynamometer. Fractional polynomial regression models were fitted to estimate the percentiles (P5, P10, P20, P25, P50, P75, P90, and P95) of HGS by age group and sex. The P20 of the maximum HGS by age group and sex was used to define muscle weakness. Associations between sociodemographic (racial self-classification, place of residence, schooling, and monthly household income per capita in tertiles) and anthropometric variables (body mass index and waist circumference) and muscle weakness, by sex, were evaluated using logistic regression.

RESULTS

The analytical sample included 7905 participants (63.1 ± 9.1 years; 60% women). HGS reduced with increasing age in both sexes. Men presented higher HGS than women in all age groups. The cutoff points for muscle weakness ranged from 28 to 15 kg for men and from 17 to 9 kg for women. In the adjusted analyses, low schooling (0-4 years) was positively associated with muscle weakness in both sexes (in men, odds ratio (OR) 2.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46-4.12; in women, OR 1.90, 95%CI 1.18-3.06). Low and middle monthly household income per capita also had a positive association with muscle weakness among women (OR 1.78, 95%CI 1.37-2.32; OR 1.32, 95%CI 1.01-1.73, respectively). Overweight had a negative association with muscle weakness among men (OR 0.66, 95%CI 0.52-0.83), and obesity was inversely associated with muscle weakness in both sexes (in men, OR 0.49, 95%CI 0.31-0.78; in women, OR 0.69, 95%CI 0.52-0.92).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides HGS values and cutoff points for muscle weakness by age group and sex from a nationally representative sample of older Brazilian adults. The variables associated with muscle weakness slightly differed between men and women. HGS values and cutoff points generated can be used as benchmarks in clinical settings and foster future epidemiological research.