Longitudinal association between handgrip strength, gait speed and risk of serious falls in a community-dwelling older population

Both grip strength and gait speed can be used as markers of muscle function, however, no previous study has examined them in the same population with respect to risk of falls. In this prospective cohort study, utilising data from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial and ASPRE...

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Published in:PloS one Vol. 18; no. 5; p. e0285530
Main Authors: Pham, Thao, McNeil, John J., Barker, Anna L., Orchard, Suzanne G., Newman, Anne B., Robb, Catherine, Ernst, Michael E., Espinoza, Sara, Woods, Robyn L., Nelson, Mark R., Beilin, Lawrence, Hussain, Sultana Monira
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 08.05.2023
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Accidental Falls
Age
Aged
Aspirin
Biology and Life Sciences
Body mass
Body mass index
Body size
Cardiovascular disease
Chronic illnesses
Confidence intervals
Exercise
Falls
Falls (Accidents)
Female
Females
Frailty
Gait
Gait - physiology
Grip strength
Hand Strength - physiology
Health aspects
Health risks
Hospitals
Humans
Independent Living
Kidney diseases
Male
Males
Medicine and Health Sciences
Muscle strength
Obesity
Older people
Patient outcomes
Physical activity
Physiological aspects
Polypharmacy
Prospective Studies
Risk
Risk factors
Statistical analysis
Systematic review
Variance analysis
Walking
Walking Speed
United States
Australia
United States > US
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Both grip strength and gait speed can be used as markers of muscle function, however, no previous study has examined them in the same population with respect to risk of falls. In this prospective cohort study, utilising data from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial and ASPREE-Fracture substudy, we analysed the association of grip strength and gait speed and serious falls in healthy older adults. Grip strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer and gait speed from 3-metre timed walks. Serious falls were confined to those involving hospital presentation. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations with falls. Over an average of 4.0±1.3 years, amongst 16,445 participants, 1,533 had at least one serious fall. After adjustment for age, sex, physical activity, body mass index, Short Form 12 (state of health), chronic kidney disease, polypharmacy and aspirin, each standard deviation (SD) lower grip strength was associated with 27% (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.17-1.38) higher risk of falls. The results remained the same for males and females. There was a dose-response relationship in the association between grip strength and falls risk. The higher risk of falls was observed in males in all body mass index (BMI) categories, but only in obese females. The association between gait speed and falls risk was weaker than the association between grip strength and falls risk. All males and only obese females with low grip strength appear to be at the greatest risk of serious falls. These findings may assist in early identification of falls.
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Competing Interests: Dr Hussain is the recipient of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship (APP1142198), Professor McNeil is supported through an NHMRC Leadership Fellowship (IG 1173690). No other disclosures are reported by the other authors.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0285530