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Published on: June 4, 2020
Determining correlations between hand grip strength and anthropometric measurements in preschool children
Amira G Mahmoud1, Eman I Elhadidy2, Mohamed S Hamza3
1Faculty of Physical Therapy, Misr University for Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt.
Insights
This study established normal hand grip strength values for preschool children aged 3-6 years. Grip strength increases with age and shows positive correlations with anthropometric measurements like forearm and hand circumference.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Human Physiology
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Establishing normative data for physical development is crucial for monitoring child health.
- Hand grip strength is a key indicator of overall muscle strength and functional capacity in children.
- Previous research has indicated variations in grip strength based on age and anthropometric factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine normal hand grip strength values in preschool children aged 3-6 years.
- To investigate the correlation between hand grip strength and anthropometric measurements (forearm circumference, hand circumference, hand length).
Main Methods:
- A pilot study confirmed significant age-related variations in grip strength.
- Preschool children were categorized into three age groups: 3-4, 4-5, and 5-6 years.
- Hand grip strength was measured using a dynamometer, and correlations with anthropometric data were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Normal grip strength values were established for each age group, showing an increase with age.
- Grip strength demonstrated significant positive correlations with forearm circumference, hand circumference, and hand length in older preschool groups.
- Specific correlations varied between dominant and non-dominant hands and across different age brackets.
Conclusions:
- This study provides essential normative data for hand grip strength in preschool children.
- Grip strength is positively associated with anthropometric measures, highlighting its developmental significance.
- These findings can aid in the early identification of potential strength deficits in young children.
Purpose:
We aimed to assess normal values of hand grip strength in preschool children and to determine their correlations with anthropometric measurements.
Methods:
According to (Indira and Rajeswari, 2015) a pilot study was performed before the current study in order to confirm the variation in values of grip strength in age ranged from 3-6 years old. Therefore, ten children from each age group was assigned and it showed a significant changes in the measurements of grip strength corresponding to the age. Thus, it was important to assign them to three groups based on age so the first group from 3 to 4 years old, the second group from 4 to 5 years old, the third group from 5 to 6 years old.
Results:
The study included 636 normal preschool-age children. Grip strengths with the dominant hand were 26.87 ± 6.77 kPa, 29.78 ± 8.43 kPa, and 38.04 ± 8.55 kPa in the 3-4, 4-5, and 5-6 years age groups, respectively. With the non-dominant hand, grip strengths were 25.03 ± 7.19 kPa, 28.13 ± 8.43 kPa, and 33.74 ± 8.14 kPa, respectively. In the 3-4 years group, there were negative significant correlations between grip strength of the dominant hand and forearm circumference (FC) or hand circumference (HC). However, we found a positive non-significant correlation with hand length (HL). Grip strength of the non-dominant hand showed a negative significant correlation with FC, a positive non-significant correlation with HC, and a positive significant correlation with HL. Grip strength of both dominant and non-dominant hands in the 4-5 years group showed moderately positive significant correlations with all anthropometric measurements. Grip strength of both dominant and non-dominant hands in the 5-6 years group showed weak positive significant correlations with FC and moderate positive significant correlations with HC and HL.
Conclusion:
This study established normal values of grip strength and demonstrated positive significant correlations between grip strength and FC, HC, and HL with increasing age in preschool children.
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