Levels of hand grip strength and body composition of Chilean older women

Abstract

Introduction: aging produces changes in body composition as well as physical function. Objective: to observe low levels of hand grip strength are related to the body composition of older adult women. Method: Forty women over sixty years of age were recruited, who had to perform a test of body composition and hand grip strength. After this, two groups were determined as dependent and functionally independent according to the cut-off points of the measurement handgrip strength. Results: it was observed that functionally dependent women had a lower muscle mass (20.2 kg) compared to functionally independent (25 kg), as well as a functionally dependent decreased bone mass (5.59%) compared to independent (6.85%) being these significant differences. There was also a high correlation between muscle mass (r = 0.74) and bone mass (r = 0.65) with hand grip strength, no statistically significant differences were observed between functionally dependent women (28.7 kg) and independent women functionally (31.4 kg), observing a low correlation between fat mass and hand grip strength (r = 0.32). Conclusion: Functionally dependent women show decreased muscle strength along with muscle and bone mass, with a relationship between body composition and hand grip strength in older Chilean women.