• Won Bin Kim, Jun-Bean Park, and Yong-Jin Kim.
• Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
• Am. J. Med. Sci. 2021 Nov 1; 362 (5): 486-495.

BackgroundReduced muscular strength, measured by handgrip strength, has been associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. However, the prognostic significance of handgrip strength has been less well-studied in the middle-aged Korean population. This study determined whether handgrip strength predicted 10-year CVD risk in this population and whether there is a sex-specific difference.MethodsThe data were derived from the 2015 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that included total of 2776 participants aged 40-69 years without prior history of CVD (men: 1184; women: 1592). Isometric relative handgrip strength was calculated by dividing absolute handgrip strength by body mass index. Participants were classified into three groups by their 10-year Framingham cardiovascular risk score: low (<10%), intermediate (10-19%), and high (≥20%).ResultsIn men, relative handgrip strength was higher in the absence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes compared with in the presence of these CVD risk factors. In women, a higher relative handgrip strength was observed in the absence of hypertension and dyslipidemia but not in the absence of diabetes compared with their counterparts. Advanced age was inversely associated with relative handgrip strength for both sexes. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that an increased relative handgrip strength was a significant and independent predictor of low 10-year CVD risk among middle-aged women (odds ratio range 0.09-0.49, p < 0.001), but not among men.ConclusionsHandgrip strength is a simple and effective screening tool for risk stratification for CVD in middle-aged Korean women.Copyright © 2021 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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