Association of normative values of grip strength with anthropometric variables among students, in Jiangsu Province

Handgrip strength is one of the most universal and powerful indices of nutritional and health status. This study was aimed at presenting norms of grip strength values and their association with anthropometric characters among students in Jiangsu Province. Cross-sectional studies were carried out among 255,157 males and females aged 7-22 years in 2010-2013. Weight and height were obtained and handgrip strength was measured. The sample was stratified by sex, age and residential area. Data were analyzed using chi-squared test and Spearman's correlation coefficient, calculated using SPSS version of 20.0. Grip strength increased with age and was significantly stronger in males than in females across all age groups (P < 0.001). Among males the strong association existed between grip strength and body weight (r = 0.858, P < 0.001), height (r = 0.807, P < 0.001), BMI (r = 0.508, P < 0.001), and age (r = 0.842, P < 0.001). Among females grip strength was strongly associated with weight (r = 0.748, P < 0.001), height (r = 0.730, P < 0.001), BMI (r = 0.524, P < 0.001) and age (r = 0.717, P < 0.001). The results of this study can be used for comparisons while determining benchmarks for handgrip strength.