Arterial stiffness is associated with handgrip strength in relatively healthy Chinese older adults

Yan He; Yue Niu; Zhe Li; Ruimin Zhang; Yizhi Chen; Zheyi Dong; Ying Zheng; Qian Wang; Yong Wang; Delong Zhao; Xuefeng Sun; Guangyan Cai; Zhe Feng; Weiguang Zhang; Xiangmei Chen

doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1342411

Arterial stiffness is associated with handgrip strength in relatively healthy Chinese older adults

Front Nutr. 2024 Feb 9:11:1342411. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1342411. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yan He^{1

2}, Yue Niu¹, Zhe Li³, Ruimin Zhang^{1

2}, Yizhi Chen^{1

4}, Zheyi Dong¹, Ying Zheng¹, Qian Wang¹, Yong Wang¹, Delong Zhao¹, Xuefeng Sun¹, Guangyan Cai¹, Zhe Feng¹, Weiguang Zhang¹, Xiangmei Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nephrology, First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, National Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Diseases, Beijing Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases Research, Beijing, China.
² Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
³ The First Affiliated Hospital and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
⁴ Department of Nephrology, Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Hainan Province Academician Team Innovation Center, Sanya, China.

Abstract

Background: Increased arterial stiffness and low handgrip strength (HGS) are associated with poor health outcomes and are a severe health risk for older adults. However, there is limited evidence and mixed results on whether there is an association between them. Therefore, this study focused on the association between arterial stiffness and HGS in relatively healthy older adults in Beijing, China.

Methods: In 2016, 2,217 adult volunteers were recruited in Beijing. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and the ankle-brachial index were measured using an automatic vascular profiling system. Carotid artery intima-media thickness and common carotid artery-internal diameter (CCAID) were evaluated using Doppler ultrasound, and HGS was measured with a dynamometer. Low HGS was determined using the Asian Sarcopenia Working Group 2019 criteria. Multivariate linear and logistic regressions evaluated the relationship between arterial stiffness and HGS.

Results: Ultimately, 776 relatively healthy older adults (mean age 69.05 ± 6.46 years) were included. Based on the AWGS2019 criteria, 137 participants were defined as having low HGS. Compared to the normal HGS group, the low HGS group was older and had higher baPWV (p < 0.001) but lower CCAID, body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin (Hb) (p < 0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that baPWV was negatively correlated with HGS (β = -0.173, t = -2.587, p = 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that baPWV and CCAID were associated with an increased risk of low HGS (odds ratio (OR) per SD increase: 1.318, p = 0.007; OR per SD increase: 0.541, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Arterial stiffness and HGS were significantly negatively correlated in relatively healthy Chinese older adults. Low HGS is associated with increased arterial stiffness. Encouraging exercise training to improve HGS, thereby reducing arterial stiffness and the risk of cardiovascular events, may be a simple and effective intervention.

Keywords: arterial stiffness; brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; handgrip strength; healthy; older adults.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [2022YFC3602900, 2022YFC3602902, and 2022YFC3602903], the Innovation Platform for Academicians of Hainan Province (Academician Chen Xiangmei of Hainan Province Kidney Diseases Team Innovation Center), the Specialized Scientific Program of the Innovation Platform for Academicians of Hainan Province [YSPTZX202026], the Specialized Scientific Research Project of Military Health Care [21BJZ37], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [82030025], and the Clinical Research Support Fund, Young Talent Project, Chinese PLA General Hospital [2019XXMBD-005 and 2019XXJSYX01].