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Handgrip Strength Seems Not to Be Affected by COPD Disease Progression: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
Dario Kohlbrenner1, Noriane A Sievi1, Maurice Roeder1
1Department of Pulmonology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
COPD
|February 20, 2020
Summary
Handgrip strength (HGS) significantly declines over time in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, this decline is not linked to disease progression or mortality, suggesting HGS monitoring may not be useful for predicting COPD outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Nephrology
- Geriatrics
Background:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by skeletal muscle dysfunction, impaired exercise capacity, and reduced physical activity.
- Handgrip strength (HGS), an indicator of upper limb muscle strength, is infrequently assessed in COPD patients.
- Longitudinal data on HGS changes and their predictors in COPD are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the longitudinal changes in handgrip strength (HGS) in patients with COPD.
- To identify predictors of changes in HGS over time within a COPD cohort.
- To investigate the association between HGS decline and COPD disease progression and mortality.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 194 COPD patients underwent yearly assessments of disease markers for up to seven years.
- Handgrip strength (HGS) was measured as part of the longitudinal assessments.
- Multivariate mixed-effects models were used to analyze HGS changes and identify independent predictors, including daily steps and COPD Assessment Test (CAT) scores.
Main Results:
- HGS significantly decreased over the follow-up period (B = -0.86, p < 0.001).
- Greater annual declines in HGS were independently associated with lower daily step counts (B = 0.11, p = 0.006) and increased CAT scores (B = -0.01, p = 0.034).
- No independent association was found between HGS decline and FEV1% predicted (p = 0.297), nor was there a difference in HGS decline between patients who died and survivors (p = 0.884).
Conclusions:
- While handgrip strength (HGS) declines significantly in COPD patients over time, this decline does not correlate with disease progression markers like FEV1 or mortality.
- Reduced physical activity (fewer steps) and worsening quality of life (higher CAT scores) are associated with faster HGS decline.
- Repeated HGS monitoring in clinical practice may not be a reliable tool for predicting COPD disease progression or outcomes.
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