Midlife strength predicts later disability

By Martin March, | Aging & Beauty | 0 Comments

Muscle strength in midlife can be used to predict physical disability in old age, results of a study show. Specifically, the authors of the study report that the risk of being physically disabled in old age is two times greater in men with the lowest hand grip strength scores in midlife compared with those with the highest midlife hand grip strength scores.

Researchers from the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland and colleagues, report their findings at the study involved roughly 6,000 Japanese-American men who had their hand grip strength tested in the mid-1960s. The men were followed to determine who became physically disabled.

What the researchers discovered was that men with lower grip strength in midlife were more likely to become disabled later on, despite that fact that all of the men were healthy at entry into the study. “Among healthy 45- to 68-year-old men, hand grip strength was highly predictive of functional limitations and disability 25 years later,” the investigators report. “Good muscle strength in midlife,” they conclude, “may protect people from old age disability.” The team believes this is the first study to make a link between muscle strength in midlife and subsequent physical disability.

The authors say hand grip strength could be used as a screening tool to spot individuals at increased risk for physical disability in old age. These people could then perform exercises to improve muscle strength and lower their risk of spending their golden years with physical disabilities. “Muscle strength can be increased substantially by physical exercise at all ages,” the researchers note.