Association of Grip Strength with All-Cause Mortality among Korean Adults with Disabilities

Abstract

PURPOSE This study utilized data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging to investigate the association between grip strength and all-cause mortality rates in adults with disabilities aged ≥45 years in Korea. METHODS The study included 430 adults with disabilities without missing values in the mortality variable and no history of cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, or cardiovascular diseases (mean age 63.2±10.0 years) for analysis. Data from the first to seventh waves were used in the analysis. Grip strength was measured using a dynamometer, and mortality status and date were recorded. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the association between grip strength and all-cause mortality rates to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs), considering potential confounding variables. Finally, a joint association between grip strength, obesity, and all-cause mortality was assessed. RESULTS During a median follow-up of 9.09±3.73 years, 135 adults with disabilities died. After adjusting all possible confounding variables, the HR of the group with the highest grip strength was significantly lower (HR: .36; 95% CI: .20-.65) than that of the group with the lowest grip strength. In the joint analysis, compared to the “weak and non-obese” group, the HRs (95% CIs) of all-cause mortality were .32 (.17-.62) and .27 (.10-.71) in the “strong and non-obese” and “strong and obese” groups, respectively. CONCLUSION High grip strength in Korean adults with disabilities aged ≥45 years was significantly associated with a lower all-cause mortality risk, independent of obesity. Hence, grip strength may be a simple indicator of mortality risk; however, additional research using large-scale survey data is required.

Keywords

• muscular strength
• grip strength
• person with disability
• all-cause mortality