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Low muscle strength is associated with metabolic risk factors in Colombian children: the ACFIES study
Daniel Dylan Cohen1, Diego Gómez-Arbeláez1, Paul Anthony Camacho2
1Dirección de Investigaciones, Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander (FOSCAL), Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia; Facultad de la Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Santander (UDES), Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia.
Insights
Poor muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in youth are linked to higher metabolic risks. Muscular strength showed a stronger association with metabolic risk factors than cardiorespiratory fitness in Colombian schoolchildren.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Metabolic Syndrome Research
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome are growing global health concerns.
- Previous research on physical fitness and metabolic risk factors has primarily focused on high-income countries and Caucasian populations.
- Understanding these associations in diverse populations, like those in middle-income countries, is crucial for global health equity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness with metabolic risk factors in Colombian schoolchildren.
- To address the gap in research concerning these associations in middle-income, Latin American populations.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 669 Colombian schoolchildren (mean age 11.52 years) from low-middle socioeconomic status backgrounds.
- Measurements included body mass index, body composition, handgrip strength (HG), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and various metabolic risk factors.
- Statistical analyses, including linear regression, were used to evaluate associations between HG, CRF, and metabolic risk factors.
Main Results:
- Both handgrip strength (HG) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) were inversely associated with blood pressure, HOMA index, and a composite metabolic risk score (p<0.001).
- HG was also inversely associated with triglycerides and C-reactive protein (CRP) (p<0.05).
- Associations between HG and risk factors were stronger and more consistent than those between CRF and risk factors, even after adjusting for each other.
Conclusions:
- Poorer handgrip strength and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with a worse metabolic risk profile in Colombian schoolchildren.
- Handgrip strength demonstrated a more robust association with metabolic risk factors compared to cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Integrating handgrip dynamometry into youth health surveillance could enhance the assessment of cardio-metabolic health.
Purpose:
In youth, poor cardiorespiratory and muscular strength are associated with elevated metabolic risk factors. However, studies examining associations between strength and risk factors have been done exclusively in high income countries, and largely in Caucasian cohorts. The aim of this study was to assess these interactions in schoolchildren in Colombia, a middle income Latin American country.
Methods:
We measured body mass index, body composition, handgrip strength (HG), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and metabolic risk factors in 669 low-middle socioeconomic status Colombian schoolchildren (mean age 11.52±1.13, 47% female). Associations between HG, CRF and metabolic risk factors were evaluated.
Results:
HG and CRF were inversely associated with blood pressure, HOMA index and a composite metabolic risk score (p<0.001 for all) and HG was also inversely associated with triglycerides and C-reactive protein (CRP) (both p<0.05). Associations between HG and risk factors were marginally weakened after adjusting for CRF, while associations between CRF and these factors were substantially weakened after adjusting for HG. Linear regression analyses showed inverse associations between HG and systolic BP (β = -0.101; p = 0.047), diastolic BP (β = -0.241; p> = 0.001), HOMA (β = -0.164; p = 0.005), triglycerides (β = -0.583; p = 0.026) and CRP (β = -0.183; p = 0.037) but not glucose (p = 0.698) or HDL cholesterol (p = 0.132). The odds ratios for having clustered risk in the weakest quartile compared with the strongest quartile were 3.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.81-4.95).
Conclusions:
In Colombian schoolchildren both poorer handgrip strength/kg body mass and cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with a worse metabolic risk profile. Associations were stronger and more consistent between handgrip and risk factors than between cardiorespiratory fitness and these risk factors. Our findings indicate the addition of handgrip dynamometry to non-invasive youth health surveillance programs would improve the accuracy of the assessment of cardio-metabolic health.
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