Persistent weak grip linked to higher death risk in older adults
The mortality hazard ratio—a measure of relative risk—was 1.75 for persistently low grip strength versus persistently normal strength over a median five years.
Limit: The disability outcome only measured presence at the 2018 assessment
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
This observational cohort study included 2,761 community-dwelling adults aged 60 or older in China without disability in daily activities at the start. Researchers classified handgrip strength in 2011 and 2013 into four patterns: persistently normal, persistently low, changing from low to normal, or changing from normal to low. The Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia’s 2025 criteria define possible sarcopenia as low handgrip strength.
Researchers recorded 258 deaths over a median five-year follow-up and 109 cases of severe disability in daily activities at the 2018 assessment. Persistently low strength was associated with higher mortality. Among people whose strength changed from low to normal, severe disability risk did not differ significantly from the persistently normal group; the range of likely values included no difference.
Why it matters
Assessing possible sarcopenia in older adults raises questions about their future independence and survival. Tracking strength over time may help inform that long-term outlook.
Caveats
This observational study could not establish whether recovering grip strength reduced risk, and the disability outcome measured its presence at the 2018 assessment. The findings concern community-dwelling older adults in China without disability in daily activities at baseline.
The paper
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Experimental Gerontology, Aug 8, 2026, Open access
