Grip strength asymmetry and Activities of daily living in middle-aged and elderly Chinese Relevance studies

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between grip strength asymmetry and the ability to perform daily activities in middle-aged and elderly Chinese.Methods Baseline data (2011) and second follow-up data from the China Health and Aging Tracking Survey (CHARLS) included people aged 45 years or older in the study population. The survey included handgrip strength asymmetry, demographic, and health behaviour variables. Generalised estimating equationsanalysedd the longitudinal association between grip strength asymmetry and ADL.Results There were 8529 respondents at baseline, of which 4054 (47.53%) were male, and the mean age of the respondents was (58.64 ± 8.87) years, with the oldest being 101 years and the youngest 45 years. Seven thousand five hundred fifty-six cases (88.59%) with spouses and 5,078 patients (67.06%) of the respondents lived in rural areas. Regarding educational attainment, 72.24% of the respondents had primary school education or above. Table 2 presents the grip strength asymmetries of daily activity functioning. From baseline to the second follow-up visit, grip asymmetry increased from 40.46% to 41.76%, and the percentage of ADL impairment rose from 14.60% to 20.46%. Using a generalised estimating equation including baseline and second follow-up data to analyse the longitudinal relationship between grip asymmetry and ADL, the interaction term between grip asymmetry and time was statistically significant after accounting for all confounding variables, indicating that the association between grip asymmetry and ADL at baseline and second follow-up differed. After gender stratification, the interaction term for grip asymmetry and time to follow-up remained statistically significant in males and females, with a 1.22-fold increase in the odds of ADL impairment in those with grip asymmetry compared to those with grip asymmetry and a 1.30-fold increase in the odds of ADL impairment in males with grip asymmetry in the gender stratification at, a difference that was also significant in females (OR=1.17,p< 0.05). Regression results for covariates indicated that location of residence, literacy, alcohol consumption, falls, and gender was significantly associated with daily activity dysfunction. In contrast, literacy and smoking were not statistically significantly associated with ADL.Conclusion Older adults with grip asymmetry are at increased risk of ADL impairment; Grap asymmetry can be used as a valid screening tool for middle-aged and older Chinese adults to help identify those at higher risk of ADL impairment.