Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Reference values for handgrip strength in young people of both sexes

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Endocrine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The handgrip strength is considered an excellent predictor of morbidity and mortality for acute and long term outcomes. In fact, several studies showed that the reduced handgrip strength is correlated to all-cause mortality in both middle aged and elderly subjects. Nevertheless, defined reference values of handgrip strength are not available, especially from young and healthy populations. The aim of this study was to determine the reference values for handgrip strength from a healthy population of young volunteers. A secondary objective was to derivate a muscle function T score useful for adults and elderly individuals. We enrolled 335 healthy university students (157 men and 178 females) aged 19–25 years. The handgrip strength was measured using a hydraulic hand dynamometer by trained dietitians. The mean handgrip strength value was 27.70 ± 4.3 kg for female and 44.77 ± 6.6 kg for male. We showed statistical difference between sexes. We also found the lower T score in community-dwelling elderly individuals in comparison to the young people. The muscle strength loss is a multi-factorial process influenced by age and hormonal factors. The availability of the reference values in both sexes might open the way to the diffusion of the handgrip strength assessment for more clinical use, and it might be useful to identify people who could benefit from early nutritional or pharmacological programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. R.W. Bohannon, R. Maljanian, J. Ferullo, Mortality and readmission of the elderly one year after hospitalization for pneumonia. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 16, 22–25 (2004)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. H. Sasaki, F. Kasagi, M. Yamada, S. Fujita, Grip strength predicts cause-specific mortality in middle-aged and elderly persons. Am. J. Med. 120, 337–342 (2007)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. T. Rantanen, T. Harris, S.G. Leveille, M. Visser, D. Foley, K. Masaki, J.M. Guralnik, Muscle strength and body mass index as long-term predictors of mortality in initially healthy men. J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 55, M168–M173 (2000)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. R.W. Bohannon, Hand-grip dynamometry predicts future outcomes in aging adults. J. Geriatr. Phys. Ther. 31, 3–10 (2008)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. A. Kerr, H.E. Syddall, C. Cooper, G.F. Turner, R.S. Briggs, A.A. Sayer, Does admission grip strength predict length of stay in hospitalised older patients? Age Ageing 35, 82–84 (2006)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. C.B. Guo, W. Zhang, D.Q. Ma, K.H. Zhang, J.Q. Huang, Hand grip strength: an indicator of nutritional state and the mix of postoperative complications in patients with oral and maxillofacial cancers. Br. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 34, 325–327 (1996)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. A.R. Webb, L.A. Newman, M. Taylor, J.B. Keogh, Hand grip dynamometry as a predictor of postoperative complications reappraisal using age standardized grip strengths. J. Parenter. Enteral. Nutr. 13, 30–33 (1989)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. J. Humphreys, M.P. de la, S. Hirsch, G. arrera, V. Gattas, D. Bunout, Muscle strength as a predictor of loss of functional status in hospitalized patients. Nutrition 18, 616–620 (2002)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. A.B. Newman, V. Kupelian, M. Visser, E.M. Simonsick, B.H. Goodpaster, S.B. Kritchevsky, F.A. Tylavsky, S.M. Rubin, T.B. Harris, Strength, but not muscle mass, is associated with mortality in the health, aging and body composition study cohort. J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 61, 72–77 (2006)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. M.C. Barbosa-Silva, A.J. Barros, Indications and limitations of the use of subjective global assessment in clinical practice: an update. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 9, 263 (2006)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. M.B. Budziareck, R.R. PurezaDuarte, M.C. Barbosa-Silva, Reference values and determinants for handgrip strength in healthy subjects. Clin. Nutr. 27, 357–362 (2008)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. M. R. A′ lvares-da-Silva, T. R. Silveira, O estudo da forc¸a do aperto da ma˜ona˜o-dominanteemindivı′duossadios. Determinac¸a˜odosvalores de refereˆncia para o uso da dinamometria. GED 1998;17:203

  13. L.E. Heredia, G.M. Pena, J.R. Galiana, Handgrip dynamometry in healthy adults. Clin. Nutr. 24, 250 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. T. Montalcini, V. Migliaccio, Y. Ferro, C. Gazzaruso, A. Pujia, Androgens for postmenopausal women’s health? Endocrine (2012). doi:10.1007/s12020-012-9692-1

  15. K. Sakuma, A. Yamaguchi, Sarcopenia and age-related endocrine function. Int. J. Endocrinol. 2012, 127362 (2012)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. A.J. Wagenmakers, Muscle function in critically ill patients. Clin. Nutr. 20, 451e4 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. S.M. Phillips, S.A. Atkinson, M.A. Tarnopolsky, J.D. MacDougall, Gender differences in leucine kinetics and nitrogen balance in endurance athletes. J. Appl. Physiol. 75, 2134–2141 (1993)

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. S. McKenzie, S.M. Phillips, S.L. Carter, S. Lowther, M.J. Gibala, M.A. Tarnopolsky, Endurance exercise training attenuates leucine oxidation and BCOAD activation during exercise in humans. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 278, E580–E587 (2000)

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. M.J. Hamadeh, M.C. Devries, M.A. Tarnopolsky, Estrogen supplementation reduces whole body leucine and carbohydrate oxidation and increases lipid oxidation in men during endurance exercise. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 90, 3592–3599 (2005)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. M. Esbjornsson, J. Bulow, B. Norman, L. Simonsen, J. Nowak, O. Rooyackers, L. Kaijser, E. Jansson, Adipose tissue extracts plasma ammonia after sprint exercise in women and men. J. Appl. Physiol. 101, 1576–1580 (2006)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. M. Esbjornsson, B. Norman, S. Suchdev, M. Viru, A. Lindhgren, E. Jansson, Greater growth hormone and insulin response in women than in men during repeated bouts of sprint exercise. Acta Physiol. 197, 107–115 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. D.M. Russell, L.A. Leiter, J. Whitwell, E.B. Marliss, K.N. Jeejeebhoy, Skeletal muscle function during hypocaloric diets and fasting: a comparison with standard nutritional assessment parameters. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 37, 133–138 (1983)

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. P. Steiger, Standardisation of measurements for assessing BMD by DXA. Calcif. Tissue Int. 57, 469 (1995)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Anonymous WHO Study Group, Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for post-menopausal osteoporosis (WHO, Geneva, 1994)

    Google Scholar 

  25. S.C. Forbes, J.P. Little, D.G. Candow, Exercise and nutritional interventions for improving aging muscle health. Endocrine. (2012) DOI 10.1007/s12020-012-9676-1

Download references

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University Magna Grecia, Catanzaro, Viale S. Venuta, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy

    Tiziana Montalcini, Valeria Migliaccio, Ferro Yvelise, Stefania Rotundo, Elisa Mazza, Alessandra Liberato & Arturo Pujia

Authors
  1. Tiziana Montalcini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Valeria Migliaccio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ferro Yvelise
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stefania Rotundo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Elisa Mazza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Alessandra Liberato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Arturo Pujia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tiziana Montalcini.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Montalcini, T., Migliaccio, V., Yvelise, F. et al. Reference values for handgrip strength in young people of both sexes. Endocrine 43, 342–345 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-012-9733-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-012-9733-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation