European Journal of Physiotherapy · Oct 10, 2026
Patient-reported physical health and handgrip strength for identifying reduced functional exercise capacity in older adults with ischaemic heart disease
By Aueyingsak S, Sungkamanee S, Konsanit S et al.
Background Brief assessments may help identify reduced functional exercise capacity when walking tests are not immediately feasible. However, the comparative performance of patient-reported physical health and muscle strength remains unclear. This study compared baseline 12-Item Short Form Health Survey Physical Component Summary (SF-12 PCS), handgrip strength (HGS), and their combination for identifying reduced functional exercise capacity at 3 months in older adults with ischaemic heart disease.Methods This secondary analysis included participants with complete baseline SF-12 PCS, HGS, sex, and 3-month six-minute walk distance (6MWD) data. Reduced functional exercise capacity was defined as 6MWD <350 m. Discrimination was assessed using sex-adjusted logistic regression models and receiver operating characteristic analysis. Exploratory cut-offs were determined using the Youden index.Results Among 350 participants, 57 (16.3%) had reduced functional exercise capacity. SF-12 PCS and HGS showed comparable discrimination (AUC 0.739 and 0.743, respectively), while the combined model yielded the highest AUC (0.777; 95% CI 0.715–0.839), with no significant pairwise differences. Exploratory cut-offs were ≤40.25 points for SF-12 PCS and ≤35.38 kg for men and ≤18.14 kg for women for HGS. In the comorbidity-adjusted model, higher SF-12 PCS (OR 0.776, 95% CI 0.657–0.916) and HGS (OR 0.736, 95% CI 0.605–0.897) were associated with lower odds of reduced functional exercise capacity.Conclusions SF-12 PCS and HGS showed comparable discrimination, with no significant incremental benefit from their combination. These brief assessments may support initial physiotherapy evaluation when the six-minute walk test is not immediately feasible but should complement direct assessment. The exploratory cut-offs require external validation.