Hand grip strength can help doctors perform time-efficient screening tool for type-2 diabetes, and improve diagnosis and outcomes, according to a study.
Muscular weakness is known to be associated with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) in otherwise seemingly healthy adults, however previous research had not found a way to assess this reliably.
The latest study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, identified consistent grip strength cut points relative to body weight, gender, and age group in a large nationally representative sample of participants pre-screened for comorbid conditions such as hypertension.
"Our study identifies the levels of handgrip strength/weakness that correlate with T2DM in otherwise healthy men and women, according to their body weights and ages," explained Elise C Brown, from Oakland University in the US.
"Healthcare providers now have a reliable test to detect it early before such complications set in," Brown said.
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T2DM is linked to increased cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality, the researchers said.
T2DM is asymptomatic in its initial stages, and a prompt diagnosis can prevent or delay vascular complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy, they said.
Researchers analysed survey data from the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to establish normalised grip strength (grip strength relative to body weight) cut points for T2DM risk.
Inexpensive portable handgrip dynamometer devices were used to determine hand and forearm strength.
After controlling for sociodemographics, lifestyle factors, and waist circumference, the investigators identified the grip strength levels of at-risk patients who were otherwise healthy.
These levels are presented with age- and sex-specific grip strength cut points that correspond to varying body weights to increase the ease of use for practitioners as indicators of when further diabetes diagnostic testing is warranted.
For example, the cut point for women aged 50-80 years is 0.49. This means that if a 60-year old woman's combined grip strength from left and right hands was 43 kg, and her body weight was 90 kg, her normalised grip strength would be 0.478.
Since this value is less than 0.49, this indicates that she is at increased risk for diabetes and further screening is warranted, the researchers said.
"Given the low cost, minimal training requirement and quickness of the assessment, the use of the normalised grip strength cut points in this paper could be used in routine health screenings to identify at-risk patients and improve diagnosis and outcomes," added Brown.
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