Mixed
Lower grip strength is significantly associated with higher risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, respiratory disease mortality, and mortality from specific cancers (colorectal, lung, breast), independent of traditional risk factors.
Measure your grip strength regularly using a dynamometer. If your score is low (below sex-specific thresholds, e.g., <26 kg for men, <16 kg for women), it is a strong signal to review your overall health, including cardiovascular and metabolic markers, even if you feel healthy. Focus on building strength through resistance training, as higher grip strength is linked to lower mortality risk.
In women and men, respectively, hazard ratios per 5 kg lower grip strength were higher (all at P<0.05) for all cause mortality (1.20, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 1.23, and 1.16, 1.15 to 1.17) and cause specific mortality from cardiovascular disease (1.19, 1.13 to 1.25, and 1.22, 1.18 to 1.26), all respiratory disease (1.31, 1.22 to 1.40, and 1.24, 1.20 to 1.28)... all cancer (1.17, 1.13 to 1.21, 1.10, 1.07 to 1.13), colorectal cancer (1.17, 1.04 to 1.32, and 1.18, 1.09 to 1.27), lung cancer (1.17, 1.07 to 1.27, and 1.08, 1.03 to 1.13), and breast cancer (1.24, 1.10 to 1.39)
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort study (n=502,293) with long follow-up and rigorous adjustment for confounders.
Source
Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants
Carlos Celis‐Morales et al. · BMJ · 2018
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