Association between atherosclerosis and handgrip strength in non-hypertensive populations in India and Japan

Although several risk factors contribute to the development of sarcopenia, whether preclinical atherosclerosis contributes to the risk of sarcopenia is not established. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate if there is an association between preclinical atherosclerosis and muscle strength among two ethnic populations.

Participants included individuals aged ≥40 years and enrolled in the third follow-up examination of the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study, India, and in the baseline assessments of the Nagasaki Islands Study, Japan. Preclinical atherosclerosis was evaluated by carotid intima-media thickness, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, cardio-ankle vascular index. The association of carotid intima-media thickness and pulse wave velocity/cardio-ankle vascular index with handgrip strength (HGS) was analyzed separately in the sexes and for hypertensive status from the two cohorts using a multivariable linear regression model.

Data on a total of 1501 participants in India and 3136 participants in Japan were analyzed. Carotid intima-media thickness was negatively associated with HGS in non-hypertensive Indian men (B coefficient = -5.38, P = 0.036). Arterial stiffness was also associated with HGS in non-hypertensive Indian men (B = -0.97, P = 0.001), but not in hypertensive Indian men. Same as Indian men, we found the significant associations between arterial stiffness and HGS in non-hypertensive women in both India and Japan (B = -0.44, P = 0.020, B = -0.63, P = 0.016, respectively), but not in hypertensive women.

The negative association between preclinical atherosclerosis and HGS was dominantly found in non-hypertensive participants. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1071-1078.