• Ze Yang, Jiemin Wei, Hongbo Liu, Honglu Zhang, Ruifang Liu, Naijun Tang, and Xueli Yang.
• Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China.
• Chin. Med. J. 2024 Jun 5; 137 (11): 134313501343-1350.

BackgroundEvidence indicates that low muscle strength is associated with an increased cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk. However, the association between muscle strength changes based on repeated measurements and CVD incidence remains unclear.MethodsThe study used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2011 (Wave 1), 2013 (Wave 2), 2015 (Wave 3), and 2018 (Wave 4). Low muscle strength was defined as handgrip strength <28 kg for men or <18 kg for women, or chair-rising time ≥12 s. Based on changes in muscle strength from Waves 1 to 2, participants were categorized into four groups of Normal-Normal, Low-Normal, Normal-Low, and Low-Low. CVD events, including heart disease and stroke, were recorded using a self-reported questionnaire during Waves 3 and 4 visits. Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the association between muscle strength changes and CVD incidence after multivariable adjustments. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated with the Normal-Normal group as the reference.ResultsA total of 1164 CVD cases were identified among 6608 participants. Compared to participants with sustained normal muscle strength, the CVD risks increased progressively across groups of the Low-Normal (HR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.01-1.43), the Normal-Low (HR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.14-1.60), and the Low-Low (HR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.49-2.07). Similar patterns were observed for the significant associations between muscle strength status and the incidence risks of heart disease and stroke. Subgroup analyses showed that the significant associations between CVD and muscle strength changes were consistent across age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) categories.ConclusionsThe study found that muscle strength changes were associated with CVD risk. This suggests that continuous tracking of muscle status may be helpful in screening cardiovascular risk.Copyright © 2024 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

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