Gripwise® versus Jamar®: the challenge of a new dynamometer assessing handgrip strength
Cédric Villain, Soazig Lebaube, Corinne Kremer, Chantal Chavoix, François Fournel, Anaïs R Briant, Bérengère Beauplet- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Aging
Abstract
Background
Sarcopenia diagnosis is partly based on handgrip strength (HGS) assessment. The gold standard dynamometer for this measurement is the Jamar®. The electronic Gripwise® is a smaller and lighter one, and its measurements are correlated with the Jamar®’s in laboratory tests. Our study aimed to confirm this correlation in aged patients.
Methods
This monocentre cross-sectional study was performed in patients of 65 years and older admitted at the University Hospital. Participants were assessed either in a seated or bedridden position, randomly allocated to begin the measurements with the Jamar® or the Gripwise®.
Results
Among 649 aged inpatients assessed for eligibility, 348 were included (mean age: 79 ± 9; 52% female). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.93 (95% CI 0.92-0.94, p<.001) for the maximum value measured with both devices and 0.94 (95% CI 0.93-0.95, p<.001) for the mean values. However, there was a significant difference in detecting low values (<16 kg in women, <27 kg in men), found in 48% of patients with Jamar®, and 71% with Gripwise® (p<.001). Thus, we determined alternate cut-offs for diagnosing HGS low values with the Gripwise® (<12 kg in women, <22kg in men), further validated in a supplementary validation population (n=70). The diagnostic performances of these alternative cut-offs were high (93% sensitivity and 87% specificity in women; 94% sensitivity and 96% specificity in men).
Conclusions
The correlation of the Gripwise® with the Jamar® was confirmed in aged inpatients. However, lower values recorded with the Gripwise® require alternate cut-offs for a relevant low HGS diagnosis.