Correlation between central arterial stiffness and handgrip strength in chronic hemodialysis patients

Abstract

This study aimed to find the correlation between central arterial stiffness and handgrip strength (HGS). We conducted a cross-sectional study at the Dialysis Unit of Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General National Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia, from April to May 2018. The recruited participants were aged between 18 and 60 years and underwent dialysis twice a week for over three months. Examination of central arterial stiffness and HGS was done by SphygmoCor® and Jamar® dynamometer, respectively. The obtained data were analyzed with bivariate correlation and partial correlation to confounding factors. The participants of this study comprised 45 men and 40 women. We found that there was a tendency to have increased central arterial stiffness in participants who had low HGS, although it was statistically insignificant. There was no correlation between central pulse wave velocity (cPWV) and HGS in men (r = -0.046, P = 0.763) and women (r = -0.285, P = 0.113). Stratified analysis in women with height over 150 cm showed a moderate negative correlation between cPWV and HGS (r = -0.466; r2 = 0.217; P = 0.016). cPWV accounted for 21.7% of HGS, whereas 78.3% suggested to be influenced by the confounding factors. The group with low HGS had an increased cPWV in all age categories. Central arterial stiffness was not associated with HGS in chronic HD patients.