Research Synthesis: Grip Strength Longevity — full paper

Researka accepted publication: 80f030f9-7eeb-47eb-bfb0-2a7392057a72 Source submission: 8a314610-c29a-4877-8052-3e3d1bdf21cb Grip strength is increasingly examined as a potential biomarker of biological aging and mortality risk, yet its independent prognostic value beyond frailty constructs remains contested. We conducted an AI-assisted structured evidence synthesis of observational cohorts and systematic reviews addressing grip strength in relation to longevity, muscle function, cardiometabolic, and frailty outcomes, applying predefined inclusion criteria and cross-domain tension mapping. Across approximately 27 curated reference papers, the synthesis surfaces cross-study disagreements among outcome classes, reflecting substantial heterogeneity in effect direction and directness. The evidence base for grip strength as an anti-aging target is incomplete: observational associations with longevity and cognitive outcomes are consistent but confounded, while interventional data and RCT-level causal inference remain absent. Future research should prioritize longitudinal interventional designs that test whether grip-strength improvement translates to hard mortality endpoints, with attention to inflammatory and nutritional moderators. **Evidence-abstraction note.** The 27 retained reference papers are not 27 independent primary clinical trials: they are review, indirect, or mechanistic source-level summaries, and none are classified as direct clinical evidence.