Lack of Grip Strength Precedes Health Problems

A lack of grip strength has been found to lead to increased risk for mortality and cardiovascular disease.

A prospective study of 142,861 subjects found that there was a significant correlation between grip strength and likelihood of death or cardiovascular disease.  Surprisingly, no correlation was found between grip strength and likelihood of serious falls.

Conclusion

This study adds to the growing body of literature supporting the use of grip strength as a diagnostic measure for overall health.  What remains to be determined is whether this indicates that strength is an overall asset towards delaying aging or whether grip strength is simply a proxy for a wide host of other, more pertinent variables.

References

Leong, Darryl P., et al. “Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study.” The Lancet 386.9990 (2015): 266-273.