Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Geriatrics
Published in: BMC Geriatrics 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research

The relationship between clinical measures of cognitive function and grip strength in healthy older adults

Authors: James K. Richardson, Toby J. Ellmers

Published in: BMC Geriatrics | Issue 1/2022

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Handgrip strength is considered a surrogate for musculoskeletal strength, however there is emerging evidence of an association with cognition. The specific neurocognitive attribute which best associates with grip strength is unknown.

Methods

We performed a secondary analysis on baseline data in 49 healthy older adults. Grip strength was corrected for body mass index. Control independent variables included age, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Trails B. Experimental variables included a clinical measure of simple reaction time, and clinical and computerized go/no-go tasks. The clinical Go/No-Go measure was determined with ReacStick, a rod-shaped device which – when released by the examiner – requires the participant to decide within 390 ms whether to catch the device or let it fall to the ground.

Results

Bivariate analysis demonstrated that age and all cognitive measures other than the computer go/no-go response accuracy related to grip strength. Multivariate analyses showed that following inclusion of the control variables, only ReacStick measures (reaction accuracy/simple reaction time) significantly predicted grip strength, explaining an additional 15.90% variance (p = 0.026). In contrast, computerized Go/No-Go accuracy (p = 0.391), response time variability (p = 0.463), and the control variables (p value range = 0.566–0.942) did not predict grip strength.

Conclusion

A short latency (< 390 ms) visuomotor Go/No-Go task independently predicted over 15% of grip strength variance, whereas a slower screen-based Go/No-Go task did not. These findings support the notion that declining grip strength likely reflects sub-clinical brain changes as well as musculoskeletal dysfunction, possibly explaining the potent relationships between grip strength, disability, chronic disease, and mortality.
Literature
1.
Giampaoli S, Ferrucci L, Cecchi F, et al. Hand-grip strength predicts incident disability in non-disabled older men. Age Ageing. 1999;28:283–8.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Taekema DG, Gussekloo J, Maier AB, et al. Handgrip strength as a predictor of functional, psychological and social health. A prospective population-based study among the oldest old. Age Ageing. 2010;39:331–7.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Kobayashi-Cuya KE, Sakurai R, Suzuki H, et al. Observational evidence of the association between handgrip strength, hand dexterity, and cognitive performance in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review. J Epidemiol. 2018;28(9):373–81.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Viscogliosi G, Bernardo MG, Ettorre E, Chiriac IM. Handgrip strength predits longitudinal changes in clock drawing test performance. An observational study in a sample of older nonn-demented adults. J Nutr Health Aging. 2017;212(5):593–6.CrossRef
5.
Hirsiger S, Koppelmans V, Merillat S, Liem F, Erdeniz B, Seidler RD, Jancke L. Structural and functional connectivity in healthy aging: associations for cognition and motor behavior. Hum Brain Mapp. 2016;37:855–67.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Leibel DK, Williams MR, Katzel LI, Evans MK, Zonderman AB, Waldstein SR. Relations of executive function and physical performance in middle adulthood: a prospective investigation in African American and white adults. J Gerontol: Psychol Sci. 2020;75(6):e56–68.CrossRef
7.
Miwa T, Hanai T, Nishimura K, Maeda T, Ogiso Y, Imai K, Suetsugu A, Taki K, Shiraki M, Shimizu M. Handgrip strength stratifies the risk of covert and overt hepatic encephalopathy in patientswith cirrhosis. J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2022;46:858–66.CrossRef
8.
9.
Rosso AL, Studenski SA, Longstretch WT, Brach JS, Boudreau RM, Rosano C. Contributors to poor mobility in older adults: integrating white matter hyperintensities and conditions affecting other systems. J Gerontol: Med Sci. 2017;72(9):1246–51.
10.
Firth JA, Smith L, Sarris J, Vancampfort D, Schuch F, Carvalho AF, Solmi M, Yung AR, Stubbs B, Firth J. Handgrip strength is associated with hippocampal volume and white matter hyperintensities in major depression and healthy controls: a UK biobank study. Psychosom Med. 2020;82:39–46.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Ogata S, Kato K, Honda C, et al. Common genetic factors influence hand strength, processing speed, and working memory. J Epidemiol. 2014;24:31–8.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Adamo DE, Anderson T, Koochaki M, et al. Declines in grip strength may indicate early changes in cognition in healthy middle-aged adults. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(4): e0232021.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
13.
Bigliassi M, Karageorghis CI, Nowicky AV. Effects of auditory distraction on voluntary movements: exploring the underlying mechanisms associated with parallel processing. Psychol Res. 2018;82:720–33.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Ellmers TJ, Kal EC, Richardson JK, et al. Short-latency inhibition mitigates the relationship between conscious movement processing and overly cautious gait. Age Ageing. 2021;50(3):830–7.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Eckner JT, Richardson JK, Kim H, et al. A novel clinical test of recognition reaction time in healthy adults. Psychol Assess. 2012;24(1):249–54.CrossRefPubMed
16.
van Schooten KS, Duran L, Visschedijk M, et al. Catch the ruler: concurrent validity and test-retest reliability of the ReacStick measures of reaction time and inhibitory executive function in older people. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2019;31(8):1147–54.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Massy-Westropp NM, Gill TK, Taylor AW, Bohannon RW, Hill CL. Hand grip strength: age and gender stratified normative data in a population-based study. BMC Res Notes. 2011;4:127.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
18.
Nasreddine ZS, Phillips NA, Bédirian V, et al. The Montreal cognitive assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive Impairment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005;53(4):695–9.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Oosterman JM, Vogels RLC, van Harten B, et al. Assessing mental flexibility: neuroanatomical and neuropsychological correlates of the trail making test in elderly people. Clin Neuropsychol. 2010;24(2):203–19.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Richardson JK, Eckner JT, Kim H, et al. A clinical method of evaluating simple reaction time is sensitive to a single dose of lorazepam. J Psychopharm. 2020;34(8):930–1025.CrossRef
21.
22.
Richardson JK, Eckner JT, Allet L, et al. Complex and simple clinical reaction times are associated with gait, balance, and major fall injury in older subjects with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2017;96(1):8–16.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
24.
Lo J, Ashton-Miller JA. Effect of pre-impact movement strategies on the impact forces resulting from a lateral fall. J Biomech. 2008;4(9):1969–77.CrossRef
25.
Stoet G. PsyToolkit: a software package for programming psychological experiments using Linux. Behav Res Methods. 2010;42(4):1096–104.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Stoet G. PsyToolkit: A novel web-based method for running online questionnaires and reaction-time experiments. Teach Psychol. 2017;44(1):24–31.CrossRef
27.
Bezdjian S, Baker LA, Lozano DI. Assessing inattention and impulsivity in children during the Go/NoGo task. Br J Dev Psychol. 2009;27(2):365–83 Publish Ahead of Print.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Bellgrove MA, Hester R, Garavan H. The functional neuroanatomical correlates of response variability: evidence from a response inhibition task. Neuropsychologia. 2004;42(14):1910–6.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Simmonds DJ, Fotedar SG, Suskauer SJ, et al. Functional brain correlates of response time variability in children. Neuropsychologia. 2007;45(9):2147–57.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Chen L, Zhao DR, Cui ZA, Johnston J. Relationship between muscle mass and muscle strength, and the impact of comorbidities: a population-based, cross-sectional study of older adults in the United States. BMC Geriatr. 2013;13:74.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
31.
Visser M, Deeg DJ, Lips P, et al. Skeletal muscle mass and muscle strength in relation to lower extremity strength in older men and women. JAGS. 2000;48:381–6.CrossRef
32.
Aron AR, Durston S, Eagle DM, et al. Converting evidence for a fronto-basal-ganglia network for inhibitory control of action and cognition. J Neurosci. 2007;27(44):11860–4.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
33.
Tabara Y, Kohara K, Ochi M, et al. Association of office-based frailty score with hypertensive end organ damage in the J-SHIPP cross-sectional study. Int J Cardiol. 2016;216:25–31.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Peterson MD, Casten K, Collins S, et al. Muscle weakness is a prognostic indicator of disability and chronic disease multimorbidity. Exp Gerontol. 2021;152: 111462.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
35.
Metadata
Title
The relationship between clinical measures of cognitive function and grip strength in healthy older adults
Authors
James K. Richardson
Toby J. Ellmers
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Geriatrics / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2318
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03629-9

Other articles of this Issue 1/2022

BMC Geriatrics 1/2022 Go to the issue

Research

The association of cardio-metabolic risk factors and history of falling in men with osteosarcopenia: a cross-sectional analysis of Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program

Research

Fun and a meaningful routine: the experience of physical activity in people with dementia

Research

Salutogenic Healthy Ageing Programme Embracement (SHAPE)- an upstream health resource intervention for older adults living alone and with their spouses only: complex intervention development and pilot randomized controlled trial

Research

Chronic diseases, chest computed tomography, and laboratory tests as predictors of severe respiratory failure and death in elderly Brazilian patients hospitalized with COVID-19: a prospective cohort study

Research

Socio-demographic and lifestyle factors associated with intrinsic capacity among older adults: evidence from India

Research

Association of platelet-to-white blood cell ratio and platelet-to-neutrophil ratio with the risk of fatal stroke occurrence in middle-aged to older Chinese
Live Webinar | 27-06-2024 | 18:00 (CEST)

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Reserve your place

Live: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

WHO estimates that half of all patients worldwide are non-adherent to their prescribed medication. The consequences of poor adherence can be catastrophic, on both the individual and population level.

Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.

Prof. Kevin Dolgin
Prof. Florian Limbourg
Prof. Anoop Chauhan
Developed by: Springer Medicine
Obesity Clinical Trial Summary

At a glance: The STEP trials

Read more

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.

Developed by: Springer Medicine
Image Credits