A claim you hear on longevity podcasts
The claim checked: Every 10 kg less grip strength means about 30% higher all-cause mortality Hear it at 14:43
All nine studies tied weaker grip to a higher risk of death, in the general public and in heart or kidney patients. All nine observed people over time.
Computed from 9 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 10 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
“you know, grip strength, right? So you look at every reduction of grip strength by 10 kilos is about a 30% increase in all cause mortality.”
other primary study · 2006 · landmark
“Both quadriceps and grip strength were strongly related to mortality.”
Strength, but not muscle mass, is associated with mortality in the health, aging and body composition study cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
Who: 2,292 nondisabled community-dwelling adults aged 70-79 years (51.6% women, 38.8% black) in the Health ABC Study, Pittsburgh and Memphis
PMID 16456196
pooled analysis · 2010 · landmark
“Most of these studies found that people in the weakest sex specific quarter of grip strength had significantly higher rates of mortality than did those in the strongest quarter; the overall summary hazard ratio of mortality comparing the lowest with the highest quarter was 1.67 (1.45 to 1.93) with adjustment for age, sex, and body size.”
Objectively measured physical capability levels and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ
Who: community-dwelling populations of any age (mostly older adults) in observational cohort studies; patient groups excluded
PMID 20829298
other primary study · 2018 · landmark
“The main finding of this study is that lower grip strength was strongly associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes.”
Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants. BMJ
Who: UK Biobank participants aged 40-69 from the general population
PMID 29739772
other primary study · 2007 · landmark
“Grip strength was a strong and consistent predictor of all causes of mortality in middle-aged and elderly persons in Japan at more than 20 years of follow-up from baseline.”
Grip strength predicts cause-specific mortality in middle-aged and elderly persons. Am J Med
Who: 4,912 Japanese adults (1,695 men, 3,217 women) aged 35-74 in the Adult Health Study cohort in Hiroshima, about half atomic-bomb survivors
PMID 17398228
systematic review · 2021 · landmark
“However, 3 associations showed Class II evidence (i.e., highly suggestive): higher handgrip values at baseline, were associated with a minor reduction in mortality risk in the general population ( n = 34 studies; sample size = 1,855,817; RR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.67–0.78); cardiovascular death in mixed populations (e.g., diabetes, general, and other conditions) ( n = 15 studies; RR = 0.84, 95%CI: 0.78–0.91), and incidence of disability ( n = 7 studies; RR = 0.76, 95%CI: 0.66–0.87) ( Table 1 ).”
Handgrip strength and health outcomes: Umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies. J Sport Health Sci
Who: Umbrella review of 8 meta-analyses of observational studies (cohort/case-control); all-cause mortality meta-analysis in the general population
PMID 32565244
pooled analysis · 2022 · landmark
“Conclusion: There is strong evidence for an association between lower handgrip strength with higher all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality risk.”
Thresholds of handgrip strength for all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality: A systematic review with dose-response meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev
Who: Healthy adults in prospective cohort studies with objective handgrip measures, 49.6% women, age range 35-85 years, from more than 40 countries
PMID 36332759
other primary study · 2010
“Our results show that low handgrip strength at ages 85 and 89 years, and a greater decline in strength over time, are associated with increased all-cause mortality.”
Handgrip strength and mortality in the oldest old population: the Leiden 85-plus study. CMAJ
Who: 555 inhabitants of Leiden, Netherlands aged 85 (65% women), population-based Leiden 85-plus study
PMID 20142372
pooled analysis · 2019
“Every 5 kg decrease of grip strength emerged as an independent predictor for cardiac death, hospital admission for heart failure and all-cause death in patients with cardiac disorders.”
Grip strength predicts cardiac adverse events in patients with cardiac disorders: an individual patient pooled meta-analysis. Heart
Who: 23,480 patients with cardiac disorders (about half ischemic heart disease), mean age 62, 70% male
PMID 30455175
pooled analysis · 2024
“Diminished handgrip strength is a significant predictor of mortality risk in patients with CKD.”
Thresholds of handgrip strength for all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease: a secondary systematic review with dose-response meta-analysis. Ren Fail
Who: adults with chronic kidney disease (mostly hemodialysis), mean age 46.6-71
PMID 38247440
None.
None.
No study gives a per-10 kg figure. Four give per-5 kg or per-1 kg risks, like a 1.16 hazard ratio per 5 kg lower grip; three give broader figures.
Computed from 7 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 10 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
pooled analysis · 2010 · landmark
“Most of the 13 studies (with a total of 44 636 participants) included in this first meta-analysis found that higher grip strength was associated with lower subsequent mortality; the overall summary hazard ratio of mortality associated with a 1 kg increase in grip strength estimated from a random effects model was 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.96 to 0.98) with adjustment for age, sex (where appropriate), and body size or with multiple adjustments for four studies (see footnote to fig 3).”
Objectively measured physical capability levels and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ
Who: community-dwelling populations of any age (mostly older adults) in observational cohort studies; patient groups excluded
PMID 20829298
other primary study · 2018 · landmark
“Our finding of a hazard ratio for all cause mortality of 1.16 for men and 1.20 for women, for a 5 kg lower grip strength, in our fully adjusted model, is in agreement with observations from the PURE study of 139 691 participants, which reported that a 5 kg lower grip strength was, after adjustment, associated with a hazard ratio of 1.16 for all cause mortality.”
Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants. BMJ
Who: UK Biobank participants aged 40-69 from the general population
PMID 29739772
other primary study · 2007 · landmark
“Multivariate-adjusted RR of all causes of death except external causes for each 5-kg increment of grip strength was significantly low (RR: 0.89, 95% CI, 0.86-0.92 for men, RR: 0.87, 95% CI, 0.83-0.92 for women).”
Grip strength predicts cause-specific mortality in middle-aged and elderly persons. Am J Med
Who: 4,912 Japanese adults (1,695 men, 3,217 women) aged 35-74 in the Adult Health Study cohort in Hiroshima, about half atomic-bomb survivors
PMID 17398228
pooled analysis · 2019
“As reported in Table 3, grip strength (as 5xKg) emerged as an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (OR 0.87, 95%CI 0.85-0.89; p<0.0001) and of hospital admission for HF (OR 0.87, 95%CI 0.84-0.92; p<0.0001) (Table 3).”
Grip strength predicts cardiac adverse events in patients with cardiac disorders: an individual patient pooled meta-analysis. Heart
Who: 23,480 patients with cardiac disorders (about half ischemic heart disease), mean age 62, 70% male
PMID 30455175
systematic review · 2021 · landmark
“However, 3 associations showed Class II evidence (i.e., highly suggestive): higher handgrip values at baseline, were associated with a minor reduction in mortality risk in the general population ( n = 34 studies; sample size = 1,855,817; RR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.67–0.78); cardiovascular death in mixed populations (e.g., diabetes, general, and other conditions) ( n = 15 studies; RR = 0.84, 95%CI: 0.78–0.91), and incidence of disability ( n = 7 studies; RR = 0.76, 95%CI: 0.66–0.87) ( Table 1 ).”
Handgrip strength and health outcomes: Umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies. J Sport Health Sci
Who: umbrella review of 8 systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies of handgrip strength and health outcomes; the all-cause mortality meta-analysis covers the general population
PMID 32565244
pooled analysis · 2022 · landmark
“Dose-response meta-analyses showed that higher levels of handgrip strength significantly reduced the risk of all-cause mortality within 26-50 kg (Higgin´s I2 =45.7%) in a close-to-linear inverse fashion.”
Thresholds of handgrip strength for all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality: A systematic review with dose-response meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev
Who: Prospective cohorts of healthy adults (49.6% women, age range 35–85 years) from more than 40 countries
PMID 36332759
other primary study · 2016
“Grip strength was inversely associated with all-cause mortality rates in men and women ( table 3 ), with no grip strength by gender interaction found when grip strength was modelled linearly (p=0.91); 1 SD lower grip strength was associated with an HR of all-cause mortality of 1.17 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.22) in a model adjusted for age, gender and body size, which was only partially attenuated in the fully adjusted model (HR=1.12, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.17).”
The association of grip strength from midlife onwards with all-cause and cause-specific mortality over 17 years of follow-up in the Tromsø Study. J Epidemiol Community Health
Who: 6850 home-dwelling Norwegian men and women aged 50-80 years in the Tromsø Study (1994-95); regression sample 6601 with complete covariates
PMID 27229009
None.
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