Category: Geriatric Rehabilitation; Health Services Research
Objective : Strength measures should be normalized by body mass but the definition of sarcopenia contains only simple grip strength. Thus, we compared the relationship of grip strength and grip strength divided by body weight with several major consequences of sarcopenia, namely, metabolic syndrome and poor quality of life.
Design : For descriptions of the clinical features of medical disorders: survey
Setting :
General community
Participants (or Animals, Specimens, Cadavers) : Data from the participants of Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination aged 60 years or more were analyzed.
Interventions : Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the ATP III guidelines with some modifications appropriate for Koreans. Quality of life was assessed by the EuroQoL (EQ)-5D. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between grip strength/grip strength divided by body weight and metabolic syndrome/quality of life.
Main Outcome Measure(s) : Comparison between grip strength and grip strength divided by body weight in their relationship with metabolic syndrome and quality of life in old adults: Based on Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Results : A total of 1,273 men and 1,436 women were included in the analyses. Grip strength was not related to metabolic syndrome whereas grip strength/body weight revealed a dense dose-response relationship. Both measures showed a similar correlation with quality of life.
Conclusions : Grip strength divided by body weight can be superior to a simple grip strength measure in representing the metabolic aspects of sarcopenia.
Suhwan Bae
– Resident, Asan medical center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Seoul-t'ukpyolsiSe-woong Chun
– Professor, Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital, Changwon, Kyongsang-namdoWon Kim
– Assistant professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Seoul-t'ukpyolsi