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Updated: Oct 1, 2025
Measurement of Spatial Stability in Precision Grip
Published on: June 4, 2020
Adjusting Grip Strength to Body Size: Analyses From 6 Countries
Pedro P Abdalla1, Lucimere Bohn2, André P Dos Santos3
1University of São Paulo, College of Nursing at Ribeirão Preto (EERP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; University of Porto, Faculty of Sports (FADEUP), Porto, Portugal; Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL) and Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Faculty of Sport (FADEUP), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
This study introduces allometric coefficients to accurately assess grip strength in older adults, especially those with extreme body sizes. These new cut-off points improve the identification of age-related conditions, offering better clinical practice tools.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Human Physiology
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Absolute and body mass index-adjusted handgrip strength are commonly used to identify age-related conditions in older adults.
- However, these measures may be inaccurate for individuals with extreme body sizes due to nonlinear relationships between strength, height, and body mass.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine accurate cut-off points for age-related conditions in older adults by using allometric coefficients to normalize grip strength by body size.
- To improve the identification of age-related conditions in older adults with extreme body sizes.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study analyzed data from 13,235 older adults from the Study on Global Aging and Adult Health in 6 low- and middle-income countries.
- Country- and sex-specific allometric exponents were computed using log-linear models to normalize grip strength by body mass and height.
- Partial correlation was used to verify the effectiveness of allometric normalization in removing body size effects, with cut-off points set at the 20th percentile for low allometrically adjusted grip strength.
Main Results:
- Allometric exponents for grip strength normalization ranged from 0.19 to 2.45, effectively removing body size influence (r < 0.30).
- International criteria using absolute grip strength overestimated the prevalence of low muscle strength compared to the proposed allometric cut-off points.
- The study provided country- and sex-specific allometric exponents for grip strength normalization.
Conclusions:
- The proposed allometric exponents accurately normalize grip strength, enhancing the identification of age-related conditions in older adults with extreme body sizes.
- The findings highlight the need for specific cut-off points for low- and middle-income countries due to observed variability in strength.
- New, easily applicable cut-off points for low normalized grip strength were proposed for healthcare providers in clinical practice.
