Is handgrip strength normalized to body weight a useful tool to identify dynapenia and functional incapacity in post-menopausal women?
Maude Dulac, Guy El Hajj Boutros, Charlotte Pion and 3 others
PMID 27683834WHAT IT FOUND
In 136 non-frail postmenopausal women, handgrip divided by body weight was associated with better alternate-step, chair-stand, and one-leg stance scores.
Cut-points separated low-strength groups, but this cross-sectional study cannot show it predicts functional decline.
Key findings
01Handgrip strength divided by body weight was positively correlated with the alternate-step test (r=0.30, p<0.001), chair-stand test (r=0.25, p<0.005), and one-leg stance test (r=0.34, p<0.001).
02Non-dynapenic women had significantly better alternate-step (p=0.002), chair-stand (p=0.050), and one-leg stance (p<0.001) scores than dynapenic women.
03Type II dynapenic women had lower alternate-step (p=0.005), chair-stand (p=0.032), and one-leg stance (p=0.004) scores than non-dynapenic women.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional study, so it cannot show that low handgrip/body weight causes poorer function or predicts decline. The correlations were r=0.30, r=0.25, and r=0.34, which the paper's interpretation guidelines classify as low. Only 22 women were type II dynapenic, and some groups had fewer than 25 participants, so non-parametric tests were used. Participants were non-frail postmenopausal women who were already autonomous in daily activities, so results may not apply to frail or more disabled patients. Hormonal changes and time on hormonal therapy were not controlled. Physical activity level differed between groups, though analyses controlled for it.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use handgrip divided by body weight to diagnose dynapenia or predict functional decline. The study only reports associations with functional test scores in non-frail postmenopausal women.