DOI: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_138_23 ISSN: 1119-3077

Assessment of Handgrip Strength in Healthy African Subjects: Establishing Age and Gender Stratified Reference Values

UAI Essien, KU Amechi, KA Madu, O Ede, EC Iyidobi, UE Anyaehie, OR Obadaseraye, IS Ogbonnaya, DC Ogbu, CL Ngwangwa
  • General Medicine
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BSTRACT

Background:

The handgrip strength assesses hand function in traumatic and non-traumatic upper extremity conditions. It is also a surrogate marker for other systemic diseases unrelated to the upper limb. Various reference values have been established in different world regions, with few studies in our population.

Aim:

To determine the average handgrip strength by gender and age categories among healthy subjects in Nigeria.

Materials and Methods:

It was a cross-sectional study assessing handgrip strength by age category (ten-year bin width), gender, and handedness in 210 healthy persons aged 10 to 79 in Nigeria. Its relationship with age, height, weight, mid-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, and mid-arm muscle area was evaluated using multiple linear regression.

Results:

The mean handgrip strength in the dominant and non-dominant hands was 31.09 kg and 28.45 kg, respectively, P < 0.001. Males have higher values than females in all age categories. The grip strength peaked in the 30–39-year age group in both genders and declined afterward. Age exhibited a nonlinear pattern but had an overall negative relationship, while height was positively related to grip strength in both genders. In contrast, mid-arm circumference and mid-arm muscle area predicted handgrip strength only in males. Triceps skinfold thickness was excluded from the model because of multicollinearity with the mid-arm muscle area, while weight did not predict grip strength in either gender.

Conclusion:

The handgrip strength in this study is less than that in western literature. Hence, test interpretation should reference the values from this study.

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