The Association between Hand Grip Strength and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: The 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND: The measurement of grip strength is a simple and inexpensive method to assess all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, as well as the risk of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the association between handgrip strength and the risk of cardiovascular disease in a nationally representative sample.METHODS: Using the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016, we analyzed data obtained from 3,266 adults aged 40–79 years, without cardiovascular disease at their baseline examination (1,421 men and 1,845 women). Relative handgrip strength was used for analysis and was calculated as the sum of the maximal absolute handgrip strength of both hands divided by the body mass index. We performed multivariate linear regression analysis to assess the association between handgrip strength and the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease. The 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease was calculated using the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Pooled Cohort atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) Risk Estimator.RESULTS: Multivariate linear regression analysis showed a significant association between handgrip strength and the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (%). After adjusting for confounders, an inverse association was observed between handgrip strength and the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in adults of both sexes (men: −1.29, women: −0.58).CONCLUSION: This study investigated the association between relative handgrip strength and the risk of ASCVD using ACC/AHA guidelines. We observed that increased relative handgrip strength may be associated with a better cardiovascular disease risk profile and lower 10-year cardiovascular risk among Korean adults aged 40–79 years.

Health-Related Quality of Life and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Korean Adults / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is considered an important outcome measure in chronic diseases, in particular cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is known to be associated with impaired HRQoL. However, few studies have examined HRQoL in individuals at high risk of CVD. METHODS: Using the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2012, we analyzed data from 10,307 adults aged > or =30 years. The study subjects were stratified into 3 groups on the basis of their Framingham risk score-a 10-year estimate of CVD risk: or =20.0% (high risk). The EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) was used to evaluate HRQoL. RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion of high-risk subjects than low-risk participants had impaired HRQoL (defined as the lowest quartile of the EQ-5D index); this held true even after adjustment for confounding factors in multivariable logistic regression analysis (men: odds ratio [OR], 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-2.11; women: OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.02-2.08). In terms of the 5 EQ-5D dimensions, a 10-year CVD risk > or =20.0% was significantly associated with self-reported problems of mobility in men (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 2.02-4.90), and of mobility (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.09-2.24), self-care (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.09-4.22), and usual activity problems (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.17-2.78) in women. CONCLUSION: A high CVD risk is associated with impaired HRQoL. After adjustment for demographic and clinical factors, a 10-year CVD risk > or =20.0% is an independent predictor of impaired HRQoL in the general population; in particular, of mobility problems in men, and of mobility, self-care, and usual activity problems in women.