Original Study
New Normative Values for Handgrip Strength: Results From the UK Biobank

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Abstract

Objectives

To develop normative values for right and left handgrip strength after stratification for confounders like gender, age, and height.

Design

Cross-sectional, descriptive.

Setting

General population.

Participants

A total of 502,713 people living in the United Kingdom.

Intervention

None.

Measurements

Handgrip strength was measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer, which is considered to be an accurate instrument to measure handgrip strength. In addition, self-reported chronic conditions and ethnic background were registered, and lung function was assessed using spirometry.

Results

After exclusion of all individuals with missing data, a nonwhite ethnic background, the presence of 1 or more self-reported conditions, and/or an obstructive lung function (defined as FEV1/FVC <0.7), new normative values for right and left handgrip strength were derived from 224,830 and 224,852 individuals (54.2% women; age: 55.0 [8.0] years; height: 169.0 [9.2] cm; body mass index: 26.9 [4.4] kg/m2) with a nonobstructed spirometry (FEV1: 3.0 [0.8] L). Men were stronger than women. Moreover, significant associations were found between handgrip strength and height, and between handgrip strength and age. Finally, percentiles 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, and 95 were calculated for right and left handgrip strength, after stratification for gender, age, and height.

Conclusion

The UK Biobank dataset provided the opportunity to determine new normative values for handgrip strength in men and women aged 39 to 73 years. These normative values take into consideration age, height, and measurement side. Therefore, these new normative handgrip strength values are of broad clinical interest.

Section snippets

UK Biobank

UK Biobank is a prospective epidemiological study aimed at improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses. It recruited 502,713 people from the general population aged between 39 and 73 years in 2006 to 2010 from across the United Kingdom. The North West Multi-centre Research Ethics Committee approved the study. Detailed information about the study is available at the UK Biobank Web site: www.ukbiobank.ac.uk. The present analysis

Characteristics

Of the 502,713 individuals who provided written informed consent, 277,883 and 277,861 individuals were excluded for development of the new normative values for right and left handgrip strength, respectively (Figure 1). Individuals were excluded because of lack of data (ie, self-reported conditions, ethnic background, lung function, height, and/or handgrip strength), or because of a nonwhite ethnic background, the presence of 1 or more self-reported conditions, or an obstructive lung function

Discussion

The UK Biobank dataset provided a unique opportunity to develop new normative values for handgrip strength for men and women with a white ethnic background aged 39 to 73 years. The current findings have several major strengths: (1) the enormous sample size recruited in the general population made it possible to stratify for gender, age, height, and measurement side; and (2) percentile 5 was calculated as a point of reference for abnormally low handgrip strength.

Handgrip strength using a

Conclusion

To conclude, the UK Biobank dataset provided the opportunity to determine new normative values for handgrip strength in men and women aged 39 to 73 years. These normative values take into consideration age, height, and measurement side. Therefore, these new normative handgrip strength values are of broad clinical interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Erin Scobie and Lorraine Gillions for their administrative support.

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  • Cited by (0)

    M.J.H.S. was supported by grants from the Netherlands Lung Foundation, Leusden, the Netherlands, Grant 3.4.09.024, and the Weijerhorst Foundation, Maastricht, the Netherlands. This research was conducted using the UK Biobank Resource.

    The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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