Handgrip strength tied to age at menopause, BMD, adiposity among women

Age at menopause, bone mineral density, and adiposity are factors associated with handgrip strength in women, with age and adiposity strongly related to the risk of dynapenia, as reported in a study.

The cross-sectional study included 249 postmenopausal women aged 50–84 years, all of whom completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Researchers recorded the population’s age, age at menopause, smoking status, the handgrip strength measured with a digital dynamometer, body mass index, and adiposity evaluated by bioelectric impedance. They also reported bone mineral density as T-scores and measured blood biochemical parameters, such as calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, and parathormone levels.

Dynapenia was detected in 31.3 percent of the women, with those aged ≥65 years having lower handgrip strength (p<0.001). Age at menopause was also associated with handgrip strength, and women whose menopause occurred at age <51 years had lower handgrip strength (p=0.005). Likewise, fat content ≥40 percent and osteopenia/osteoporosis were linked to lower strength (p<0.001).

Handgrip strength was not significantly different in terms of body mass index, smoking status, and plasma levels of vitamin D.

In a logistic regression model with lower Akaine Information Criterion, every 1-year increase in age corresponded to 9-percent higher odds of dynapenia in women (odds ratio [OR], 1.09, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.14). Likewise, each 1-percent increase in adiposity was associated with 6-percent greater odds of dynapenia (OR, 1.06, 95 percent CI, 1.00–1.13).

In contrast, women with higher femoral neck T-score were less likely to have dynapenia (OR, 0.53, 95 percent CI, 0.35–0.78).