Prediction of sarcopenia by hand grip strength in older adults

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether hand grip strength can be a predictor of sarcopenia in older adults. Methods: A literature search was performed in the PUBMED electronic database, including human clinical studies performed in the last 5 years. Results and Conclusion: Nine studies using hand grip strength for the detection of sarcopenia in older adults were included. Sarcopenia was found to be a multifactorial pathology, characterized by low strength (dynapenia) and skeletal muscle mass in those with sarcopenia. Hand grip strength has been shown to be a valid, reliable method with easy applicability to predict sarcopenia in older adults independent of lower limb muscle strength.