‘Handshake strength predicts chances of major illness!’ The last few days has seen a few different pieces
claiming that a recent study shows how the strength of your handshake
can predict if you’re at a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. The
research actually looked at grip strength using a hand dynamometer,
which isn’t really the same thing.
The study, published in the Lancet,
assessed whether a person’s muscle strength can predict the chances of
death and illness, using a ‘grip test.’ They followed just under 140,000
adults living in 17 countries over a period of up to 4 years. What they
found was that the chances of dying, having a heart attack and stroke
were higher in people who had weaker grips.
They apparently found that grip strength was also a better predictor
of death than standard systolic blood pressure tests. “Grip strength
could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual's risk of
death and cardiovascular disease,” claimed Dr. Darryl Leong, lead author of the study, from McMaster University.
The scientists found that there was a one in six increase in chance
of death, from any cause, for every 5kg drop in strength. Interestingly,
this held true across a broad range of countries, regardless of average
incomes or sociocultural setting.
This seems fairly intuitive. Weaker people, such as the elderly, are
often at a higher risk of illness when compared with stronger healthier
individuals. But what this can’t tell us
is if people are weak and frail because they are already ill, or if
their weakness means they’re more likely to have health problems and
less likely to survive as a result.
Whilst grip strength might be an easy way of evaluating someone's
risk, the researchers say that muscle strength might simply predict what
happens to a person once they get ill, rather than whether they get ill
in the first place. They might claim that it’s a better predictor of
cardiovascular health, but the advantages of measuring blood pressure
means that doctors can suggest other tests that can then lead to
preventative strategies. In countries where these more advanced tests
are not possible, however, grip strength could still be of use.
However, what the scientists didn’t look at, although they do suggest
it as a further avenue of research, was whether increasing a person's
strength might help in reducing their risk of death and cardiovascular
disease. Would doing more exercise and weight training protect us? Or
are other factors that can impact muscle strength, such as diet and
occupation, also important elements that we should be paying more
attention to?
