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Strong grip may predict lower all-cause CVD mortality risk in diabetes
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Adults with diabetes and increased grip strength may have a lower risk for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality and cardiovascular disease incidence compared with adults with diabetes and weaker grip, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.
Stuart R. Gray, PhD, BSc, of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, and colleagues evaluated data from the UK Biobank on 347,130 adults (mean age, 55.9 years; 27.2 kg/m2; 54.2% women; 4% with diabetes) to identify interactions between diabetes and grip strength and their associations with health outcomes.
Through a median 4.9 years’ follow-up, 4,301 participants developed CVD and 6,209 died. Significant interactions were observed between diabetes and grip strength for all-cause mortality (P = .02), CVD mortality (P = .016) and CVD incidence (P = .041).
The risks for all-cause mortality (HR = 2.79; 95% CI, 2.41-3.23), CVD mortality (HR = 4.05; 95% CI, 2.72-5.8) and CVD incidence (HR = 2.19; 95% CI, 1.81-2.64) were greater among participants with diabetes and low grip strength than among participants without diabetes and high grip strength. In participants with diabetes, the risk for CVD mortality was greater with low grip strength (HR = 4.05; 95% CI, 2.72-5.8) than high grip strength (HR = 1.46; 95% CI, 0.87-2.46).
“Maintenance of muscle strength is important — although causality needs to be determined — in people with type 2 diabetes,” Gray told Endocrine Today. “Accumulating evidence suggests that grip strength can help in prediction of future CVD, and it may be worth considering measuring this in patients. Secondly, it may be prudent, when recommending people to participate in physical activity, to remember to emphasize the importance of maintaining muscle strength.” – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Stuart R. Gray, PhD, BSc, can be reached at stuart.gray@glasgow.ac.uk.
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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