Stronger grip linked to lower risk of blood clots in veins
Higher grip strength relative to body weight was linked to 13% lower relative clot risk per standard deviation, a measure of variation in strength.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 481,945 UK Biobank participants without prior venous blood clots, median 13.72 years
- What changed:
- Risk of blood clots in veins was 19% lower in the highest-strength group than in the lowest-strength group
- The catch:
- Better overall health could explain both stronger grips and lower clot risk
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 481,945 UK Biobank participants without previous blood clots in veins, a prospective cohort study examined grip strength relative to body weight. Researchers divided participants into three strength groups within age and sex categories. Over a median 13.72 years, they recorded 15,774 new clot events. The highest-strength group had a 19% lower relative risk than the lowest-strength group. The link held across genetic risk groups.
The study also included 14,908 patients with blood clots in veins at enrollment. Among them, 2,884 died during follow-up. Those in the highest-strength group had a 21% lower relative risk of death from any cause than those in the lowest-strength group.
Why it matters
Muscle strength is an indicator of overall health. The results raise the question of whether it could help assess clot risk and prognosis as people age.
Caveats
People with stronger grips may also have been healthier in ways that affected clot risk and survival. The analysis of new clots excluded people who had already had clots.
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