Association of handgrip strength with aortic stenosis among adults aged 60 years and older: evidence from the 157097 UK Biobank participants

Cheng-Xiang Song; Qing Li; Cong-Ying Xia; Lu Long; Xiao-Xi Zeng; Jun-Li Li; Mao Chen

doi:10.26599/1671-5411.2024.11.003

Association of handgrip strength with aortic stenosis among adults aged 60 years and older: evidence from the 157097 UK Biobank participants

J Geriatr Cardiol. 2024 Nov 28;21(11):1026-1033. doi: 10.26599/1671-5411.2024.11.003.

Authors

Cheng-Xiang Song^{1

2}, Qing Li^{1

3}, Cong-Ying Xia², Lu Long⁴, Xiao-Xi Zeng^{5

6}, Jun-Li Li¹, Mao Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Cardiac Structure and Function, Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
² Department of Cardiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
³ National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, the Center of Gerontology and Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
⁵ West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
⁶ Division of Nephrology, Kidney Research Institute, West China hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association of handgrip strength with aortic stenosis incidence among adults aged 60 years and older.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study using the UK Biobank data to assess the relationship between handgrip strength and incident aortic stenosis in individuals aged 60 years and older. Handgrip strength was measured using a Jamar J00105 hydraulic hand dynamometer. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were conducted to assess the association between handgrip strength and incident aortic stenosis.

Results: We included 157,097 UK Biobank participants (78,151 women and 78,946 men) in our study, with mean age of 64 ± 2.9 years. During a median follow-up of 8.1 (7.4-8.8) years, 1543 (1.0%) participants developed incident aortic stenosis. Compared with those with the lowest handgrip strength (tertile 1), the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of incident aortic stenosis in the middle (tertile 2) and the highest (tertile 3) were 0.86 (0.77-0.97) and 0.76 (0.67-0.87), respectively.

Conclusions: Higher handgrip strength was associated with lower risk of developing aortic stenosis in older adults. Future studies warrant preventive strategies for older adults with lower handgrip strength.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81970325, and 82170375); Key Research and Development Project of Science & Technology Department of Sichuan Province (2022ZDZX0020); Key Research and Development Support Project of Science & Technology Department of Chengdu (2021-YF08-00121-GX); Chinese Medical Association Cardiovascular Branch (CSC) Clinical Research Special Fund Project (CSCF2020B04); West China Hospital 1·3·5 Discipline of Excellence Project- Percutaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantation and Mechanisms of aortic stenosis and the clinical applications.