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Published on: June 4, 2020
Hand anthropometry and its relation to grip/pinch strength in children aged 5 to 13 years
Juan Wen1,2, Jing Wang1, Qu Xu1
1Department of Children Health Care, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing, China.
Insights
Children's hand shape and grip strength develop with age, with boys generally having larger measurements. Hand dimensions correlate with strength, providing valuable reference data for pediatric development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physiology
- Biometrics
- Hand function assessment
Background:
- Understanding children's physical development is crucial for assessing health and function.
- Physiological hand shape and grip/pinch strength are key indicators of motor development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the developmental trajectories of physiological hand shape indicators in children.
- To investigate the relationship between hand shape and grip/pinch strength.
- To establish normative data for these parameters in a Chinese pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Prospective measurement of hand shape and grip/pinch strength in 1255 children aged 5-13 years.
- Construction of development curves for physiological hand shape indicators and strength.
- Pearson correlation analysis to assess relationships with anthropometric data.
Main Results:
- Both hand shape indicators and grip/pinch strength increased with age, with significant differences observed across age groups.
- Boys generally exhibited larger hand measurements and strength than girls, with accelerated development in girls post-puberty.
- Physiological hand dimensions showed significant positive correlations with grip/pinch strength, height, weight, and BMI.
Conclusions:
- Established developmental trends for children's physiological hand shape and grip/pinch strength.
- Demonstrated significant positive correlations between hand morphology and functional strength.
- Provided essential reference ranges for evaluating pediatric hand development and function.
Objective:
To evaluate the development level of children's physiological hand shape indicators and their relationship with grip/pinch strength.
Methods:
Hand shape and grip/pinch strength in 1255 Chinese children aged 5 to 13 years were prospectively measured. Development curves of physiological hand shape indicators and grip/pinch strength were constructed.
Results:
The physiological hand shape indicators (full length, middle finger length, width, and wrist thickness) and grip/pinch strength of boys and girls increased with age and showed statistically significant differences at different ages. In most age groups, hand shape indicators and grip/pinch strength were larger in boys than in girls of the same age. After puberty, the physiological hand shape indicators and grip/pinch strength increased more rapidly in girls than in boys of the same age, and the differences gradually decreased thereafter. Moreover, a significant difference in pinch strength between the right and left hands was observed in most age groups. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the physiological hand shape indicators were significantly positively correlated with grip/pinch strength, height, weight, and body mass index.
Conclusions:
This study revealed the relationship between physiological hand shape indicators and grip/pinch strength and provided reference ranges of physiological hand shape indicators and grip/pinch strength for children.
