Comparison of hand dynamometers in elderly people

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Previous dynamometer assessments in adults highlighted issues with practicality, weight, and ergonomics.
• More suitable tools are needed for gerontological and clinical research involving older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the measurement reliability and performance of various hand grip strength dynamometers in an elderly population.
• To compare the accuracy and agreement of four static grip strength dynamometers against a reference standard in older adults.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted in Porto, Portugal, involving a retirement home and a social day care center.
• Fifty-five elderly individuals (65-99 years) had their grip strength measured using four dynamometers: Smedlay's Hand, Sammons Preston Rolyan Bulb, Eisenhut, and Jamar Hydraulic Hand.
• The Jamar Hydraulic Hand served as the comparison dynamometer.

Main Results:

• Laboratory accuracy of all four dynamometers against known forces was excellent (r > 0.96).
• A strong association was found between the Jamar Hydraulic and the other instruments (r > 0.77), but significant differences in mean grip strength values were observed.
• Bland-Altman plots indicated poor agreement between the Jamar Hydraulic and the other three dynamometers.

Conclusions:

• While all four dynamometers demonstrated high accuracy in laboratory settings, their performance varied significantly when used with elderly individuals.
• The Smedlay's dynamometer showed results closest to the Jamar Hydraulic, but none of the tested dynamometers provided comparable measurements to the Jamar Hydraulic in this population.