Handgrip strength and physical activity in frail elderly

Abstract

Objective:To investigate the association between handgrip strength (HS) and physical activity in physical frailty elderly. Method: Cross-sectional quantitative study with a sample of 203 elderly calculated based on the population estimated proportion. Tests were applied to detect cognitive impairment and assessment of physical frailty. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis by binary logistic regression were used, and also Student's t-test and Fisher's exact test. Results: A total of 99 (64.3%) elderly showed decreased handgrip strength and 90 (58.4%) elderly presented decrease in physical activity levels. There was a statistically significant difference between these two components (p=0.019), in which elderly who have decreased HS have lower levels of physical activity. For low levels of physical activity and decreased HS, there was no evidence of significant difference in the probability of the classification as frail elderly (p<0.001). Conclusion: The components handgrip strength and physical activity are associated with the frail elderly. The joint presence of low levels of physical activity and decreased handgrip strength leads to a significantly higher probability of the elderly to be categorized as frailty.

Handgrip Strength and Its Associated Factors among Community-dwelling Elderly in Sri Lanka: A Cross-sectional Study

“…This may be due to insulin resistance in diabetes which leads to muscle strength decline [25]. Older people with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, depression, and low physical activity are reported to have lower HGS [6,7,14]. Nevertheless, no statistically significant association was found between HGS and these conditions in this study.…”

Investigating the functional grip strength of elderly fallers in Singapore

“…Grip strength is known to represent the overall muscle strength and functional capacity of an individual, and has been used as an important clinical tool to assess early symptoms of frailty in ageing individuals. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Additionally, normative reference values for specific populations, such as those in Singapore, South Korea, Canada and Europe, have been established, 15,[24][25][26][27] and cutoff grip strength values to screen elderly people at risk have also been implemented. [28][29] For example, the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 29 suggested that grip strength below 26 kg for males or 18 kg for females would signify a higher risk of sarcopenia.…”

“…2,4 Hand grip strength measurement has been known to be a useful tool for assessing overall muscle weakness and identifying elderly people at risk of functional deterioration or frailty. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Taekema et al reported that lower grip strength was able to predict an accelerated decline in activities in daily living (ADL) functionality. 11 In a systematic review by Bohannon et al, the authors found that low grip strength was associated with a greater likelihood of functional limitations.…”

Development and evaluation of low-cost walker with trunk support for senior citizen

“…Researchers report that this difference is related to intrinsic factors, such as pathologies, as well as with life habits and socioeconomic aspects (24) . Practicing some physical activity, even with low intensity, is one of the main addressed factors, since its decrease is constantly related to the increase in the fragility and stillness of the senior citizen (25) . In this context, the use of the proposed walker with trunk support may help the performing low intensity physical activities, such as walks.…”