Associations between grip strength and generalized anxiety disorder in older adults: Results from the Irish...

Associations between grip strength and mental health disorders have been established; however, associations between grip strength and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) remain unstudied. Therefore, this study investigates associations between grip strength and prevalent and incident GAD.

A prospective cohort design was utilized. At baseline, participants aged ≥50 years (N = 3,952) completed a hand grip strength assessment and abbreviated Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and were divided into sex-specific tertiles based on strength. A score of ≥23 on the PSWQ defined caseness of GAD. At two-year follow-up, GAD was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form.

Prevalence and incidence of GAD were 18.2% (N = 718) and 0.9% (N = 29), respectively. Adjusting for age, sex, waist circumference, social class, smoking status, and physical activity, a one-standard-deviation (1-SD) increase in strength was associated (OR, 95%CI) with 12.1% (OR = 0.88, 0.80-0.96; p < 0.01) lower odds of prevalent GAD, and middle and high strength tertiles were associated with 27.3% (OR = 0.73, 0.59-0.89; p < 0.01) and 23.1% (OR = 0.77, 0.62-0.95; p < 0.05) lower odds, respectively. A 1-SD increase in strength was non-significantly associated with 24.2% (OR = 0.76, 0.50-1.14) lower odds of incident GAD, and middle and high strength tertiles were non-significantly associated with 31.4% (OR = 0.69, 0.30-1.58) and 66.5% (OR = 0.34, 0.11-1.00) lower odds, respectively (all p > 0.05). There was no significant interaction between strength tertiles and sex.

The observational nature of the study limits inferring causality.

Increased hand grip strength may be associated with lower odds of developing GAD in older adults. Larger investigations of prospective associations are needed.