Association Between Grip Strength and Cognitive Function in US Older Adults of NHANES 2011–2014

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Yang, Jiajia^{a; 1} | Deng, Yan^{a; 1} | Yan, He^{a; b; 1} | Li, Benchao^a | Wang, Ziping^a | Liao, Jingling^a | Cai, Xiaoli^a | Zhou, Li^a | Tan, Wei^{a; b; *} | Rong, Shuang^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Nutrition Hygiene and Toxicology, Academy of Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Medical College, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China | [b] Community Health Service Center of Qingling, Wuhan, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Shuang Rong, PhD, Department of Nutrition Hygiene and Toxicology, Academic of Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Medical College, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 2, Huangjiahu Road, Wuhan 430065, China. E-mail: rongshuangwust@yeah.net and Wei Tan, MD, Community Health Service Center of Qingling, No. 16, Huangjiahu Road, Wuhan 430065, China. E-mail: tanwei63317@163.com.

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Background:The relationship between grip strength and cognitive function remains no consensus in the older adults. Objective:To investigate the association of grip strength with cognitive function and cognitive performance in different domains. Methods:Participants of the present cross-sectional study were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014. Grip strength was measured by grip dynamometer, and combined handgrip strength was the sum of the largest reading from each hand. Four cognitive domains (immediate and delayed memory, language, and attention) were assessed by a set of neuropsychological tests. The subjective cognitive decline was determined via self-report. Results:Among 2,618 participants, combined grip strength was positively associated with scores on global cognitive function and each cognitive domain after controlling for demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and history of disease. In addition, compared to those with grip strength < 46.7 kg, participants with grip strength≥75.3 kg had odds ratios of 0.36 (95% CI: 0.21 to 0.63) for poor global cognitive function, 0.66 (95% CI: 0.38 to 1.13) for poor immediate memory, 0.53 (95% CI: 0.30 to 0.93) for poor delayed memory, 0.48 (95% CI: 0.27 to 0.86) for poor language function, 0.20 (95% CI: 0.11 to 0.35) for poor attention, and 0.36 (95% CI: 0.18 to 0.73) for subjective cognitive decline in fully adjusted model. Conclusion:Older adults with higher grip strength were significantly associated with better performance on cognition function included global and various domains such as memory, language, attention, and subjective cognitive decline.

Keywords: Cognitive function, cross-sectional study, grip strength, old adults

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-215454

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 89, no. 2, pp. 427-436, 2022