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Approved research

Development of normative values for hand grip strength

Principal Investigator: Dr Martijn Spruit
Approved Research ID: 289
Approval date: July 1st 2012 | Completion date: June 19th 2018

Lay summary

Distal weakness generally predominates in patients with polyneuropathy and may contribute to deficits in daily activities and social participation. Therefore, reliable assessment of hand grip strength is important to capture clinical changes in interventional studies in these disorders. Assessment of hand grip strength has also been shown to be a prognostic indicator of clinical and functional recovery in other diseases affecting hand function and is a determinant of morbidity and mortality in elderly individuals with acute or chronic diseases. The Jamar dynamometer has been widely used in various chronic illnesses and has demonstrated its strength as a potential prognostic indicator. Various stratified normative values have been published using different methodologies in small-sized groups, leading to conflicting results. This project aims to determine age-specific, gender-specific and BMI-specific normative values of hand grip strength, which can be applied in daily clinical practice throughout the world. This project requires the use of baseline data on hand grip strength, impedance measures and self-reported illness in the full cohort.