Grip strength inversely linked to NAFLD risk

Grip strength (GS) may be an indicator of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its severity, a recent study has found.

The study included 3,922 adults, in whom GS was measured using a digital hand dynamometer. NAFLD was defined using the validated NAFLD liver fat score (NAFLD-LFS). Researchers also assessed the potential impact of insulin resistance and inflammation on the association between NAFLD and grip strength.

Nearly a quarter (22.5 percent) of the study sample had NAFLD, and this was more prevalent in men than in women (27.3 percent vs 17.6 percent). Relative grip strength (rGS), calculated with respect to body mass index, was also greater in men (1.77 vs 1.13).

Grouping participants into quartiles of rGS revealed a strong inverse correlation with NAFLD-LDS in both men and women (p<0.001 for both), such that the liver score dropped with increasing rGS quartiles in the overall study population. Similarly, the prevalence of NAFLD declined as rGS quartiles increased in both sexes.

Logistic regression analysis further confirmed that the risk of NAFLD was significantly lower in the top vs bottom quartiles of rGS in both men (odds ratio [OR], 0.20, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.13–0.30; p_trend<0.001) and women (OR, 0.13, 95 percent CI, 0.08–0.22; p_trend<0.001).

Additional adjustments for the triglycerides and glucose index and for levels of C-reactive protein slightly altered the estimates, but did not change the overall pattern of interaction, and neither did it attenuate statistical significance.