Association of handgrip strength with aortic stenosis among adults aged 60 years and older: evidence from the 157097 UK Biobank participants

Objective To examine the association of handgrip strength with aortic stenosis incidence among adults aged 60 years and older.

Methods We conducted a cohort study using the UK Biobank data to assess the relationship between handgrip strength and incident aortic stenosis in individuals aged 60 years and older. Handgrip strength was measured using a Jamar J00105 hydraulic hand dynamometer. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were conducted to assess the association between handgrip strength and incident aortic stenosis.

Results We included 157,097 UK Biobank participants (78,151 women and 78,946 men) in our study, with mean age of 64 ± 2.9 years. During a median follow-up of 8.1 (7.4–8.8) years, 1543 (1.0%) participants developed incident aortic stenosis. Compared with those with the lowest handgrip strength (tertile 1), the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of incident aortic stenosis in the middle (tertile 2) and the highest (tertile 3) were 0.86 (0.77–0.97) and 0.76 (0.67–0.87), respectively.

Conclusions Higher handgrip strength was associated with lower risk of developing aortic stenosis in older adults. Future studies warrant preventive strategies for older adults with lower handgrip strength.