Measuring grip strength (GS) could help identify postmenopausal women at risk for osteoporosis, Finnish researchers have found.
The team, led by Matti Kärkkäine from Kuopio University Hospital, investigated whether simple physical tests could predict bone mineral density (BMD) in older women.
In all, 606 women aged 66–71 years taking part in a fracture prevention study were asked to complete physical tests including standing on one foot (SOOF), GS, leg extension strength, squatting, standing for 10 seconds with eyes closed, chair rising, regular walk for 10 m, and tandem walk for 6 m.
The findings were then correlated with spine and femur BMD, and adjusted for age, body mass index, hormone therapy duration, time since menopause, smoking, and use of oral steroid treatment.
As reported in the journal Bone, SOOF, GS, and squatting to the floor were associated with BMD at the lumbar spine and regions of the proximal femur.
Further analysis showed that women with femoral neck osteoporosis had poorer functional capacity than women with normal or osteopenic BMD, as determined by SOOF, GS, leg extension strength, and ability to squat on the floor.
In addition, receiver operating curve analysis showed that using a GS cutoff of 22 kg could identify patients with osteoporosis, with a sensitivity of 58% and specificity of 86%. These results were not improved by adding combing GS and SOOF tests.
Kärkkäine et al note that patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis would have difficulty in performing the GS task and other physical tests.
“We suggest that GS could be used in medical decision making to identify those women who would benefit from BMD measurements albeit alone it may not provide accurate enough tool for osteoporosis screening,” they conclude.