Clinical Interventions in Aging (Jun 2022)

Association Between C-Reactive Protein and Relative Handgrip Strength in Postmenopausal Korean Women Aged 45–80 Years: A Cross-Sectional Study

  • Son DH,
  • Song SA,
  • Lee YJ

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 971 – 978

Abstract

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Da-Hye Son,1,2,* Seung-Ah Song,1,* Yong-Jae Lee1 1Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 2Department of Integrative Medicine, Yonsei University Graduate School, Seoul, Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yong-Jae Lee, Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine Gangnam Severance Hospital, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06273, Korea, Tel +82 2 2019 2630; +82 10 7292 9169, Fax +82 3462 8209, Email [email protected]: Chronic inflammation plays a key role in the pathophysiology of frailty and loss of physical performance, which are closely associated with sarcopenia. In women, the decline in muscle mass and strength is accelerated after menopause. Thus, we examined the association between high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and relative handgrip strength (HGS) in postmenopausal women.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2171 postmenopausal women aged ≥ 45 years who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHNES) between 2015 and 2018. Relative HGS was categorized into quartiles as follows: Q1, 1.119 (kg/BMI). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for high hs-CRP (> 1.0 mg/L, 75 percentile of the current samples) were calculated across relative HGS quartiles using multiple logistic regression analysis.Results: The prevalence of high hs-CRP decreased with relative HGS quartiles. Compared to the highest quartile, the OR (95% CI) of the lowest relative HGS quartile for high hs-CRP was 3.266 (2.227– 4.789) after adjusting for age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, education, household income, physical activity, strength exercise, smoking, and alcohol ingestion.Conclusion: Serum hs-CRP level was inversely and independently associated with relative HGS. Our findings indicate that low-grade inflammation is inversely associated with muscle strength in postmenopausal women.Keywords: C-reactive protein, hand strength, menopause, inflammation, sarcopenia

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