Among people older than 85, a weak handgrip appears
to predict high risk of dying within nine years. (Photo: AP)
Feb. 9--A tracking study of Dutch senior citizens has determined that a weak handgrip can indicate a person has a higher risk of dying in the near future. Participants in the study were 85 years old at the beginning of the study, and survivors were followed until the age of 94.
Handgrip strength naturally declines as people age and serves as an easily obtained measure overall skeletal muscle strength.
The average measurements for women in the study was 18,7 kg at 85 and 16.4 kg at 89; for men, the measurements were 30.6 kg at 85 and 25.6 kg 89. Among both men and women, the risk of death was more than doubled for those with grips that ranked in the lower two-thirds of the measurements.
Researchers concluded in the Feb. 8 Canadian Medical Association Journal, "Handgrip strength ... is a predictor of all-cause mortality in the oldest old population and may serve as a convenient tool for prognostication of mortality risk among elderly people."
While interesting, the finding may have little relevance for many Virginians. In 2005, the last year for which state officials have complete data, only white women living in the Commonwealth had a life expectancy approaching 85 years, at 82. Other groups could expect to live between 71 years (black men) and 78 years (black women).
In 2008, the Virginia Division of Health Statistics recorded 441 deaths of state residents older than 100 out of 58,730 total deaths. Heart disease, cancer and stroke--all of which can cause significant muscle weakness--were the top three leading causes of death for Virginians of all ages in 2006.
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