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Interinstrument agreement of hand dynamometer measurement in hospitalized children
Melda Kangalgil1, Buket Meral2, Buğra Kaan Tiryaki3
1Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.
Insights
Handgrip strength measurement in children shows good reliability between Jamar and Takei dynamometers. However, poor agreement indicates a lack of validity, necessitating standardized pediatric methods.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Clinical Measurement
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Handgrip strength is a key indicator for nutrition and health status.
- Limited data exists on handgrip strength measurement in pediatric populations.
- Hospitalized children require reliable health assessment tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the inter-instrument agreement of Jamar and Takei dynamometers.
- To assess the validity of handgrip strength measurements in hospitalized children.
- To identify potential standardization needs for pediatric handgrip assessment.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Comparison of Jamar and Takei dynamometers for handgrip strength.
- Statistical analyses including intraclass correlation and Bland-Altman analysis.
- Inclusion of hospitalized children aged 6-16 years.
Main Results:
- High intraclass correlation coefficients (0.928 dominant, 0.872 nondominant hands) indicate good reliability.
- Significant differences in measurements between Takei and Jamar dynamometers (P < 0.001).
- Bland-Altman analysis revealed poor agreement between the two devices.
Conclusions:
- Jamar and Takei dynamometers demonstrate good reliability but poor validity for pediatric handgrip strength.
- Current measurement methods lack agreement, hindering accurate clinical use.
- Standardized protocols are essential for reliable handgrip strength assessment in hospitalized children.
Background:
Handgrip is a simple and useful parameter used in the diagnosis and follow-up of nutrition disorders and a prognostic indicator for health status. However, data on the measurement of handgrip strength in the pediatric population are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the inter-instrument agreement and validity of commonly used hand dynamometers in hospitalized children.
Methods:
This is a cross-sectional study comparing handgrip strength measurement with Jamar and Takei dynamometers in hospitalized children aged 6-16 years. Intraclass correlations, Pearson correlation, and Bland-Altman analyses were used to assess validity as the level of agreement between devices.
Results:
Twenty-nine children with a median age of 9 years, 62.1% of whom were male, with metabolic-endocrine and infectious diseases as the main reason for hospital admission were included in the study. The intraclass correlations values between the two devices are 0.928 and 0.872 in the dominant and nondominant hands, respectively. Handgrip strength measured with Takei was greater than Jamar for both the dominant and nondominant hands (P < 0.001) per Bland-Altman analysis.
Conclusion:
Our results show that despite good or excellent reliability, there is poor agreement between devices, indicating a lack of validity. There is a need for improved methods and standardization specific to this population for the use of handgrip strength in pediatric hospitalized patients.
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