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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #397478
Research Project: Nutrition, Sarcopenia, Physical Function, and Skeletal Muscle Capacity During Aging

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Recommendations for reducing heterogeneity in handgrip strength protocols

Author
item MCGRATH, RYAN - North Dakota State University
item CAWTHON, P.M. - California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute
item CLARK, B.C. - Ohio University
item FIELDING, ROGER - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item LANG, J.J. - Public Health Agency Of Canada
item TOMKINSON, G.R. - University Of North Dakota

Submitted to: The Journal of Frailty and Aging
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/2/2022
Publication Date: 4/17/2022
Citation: McGrath, R., Cawthon, P., Clark, B., Fielding, R., Lang, J., Tomkinson, G. 2022. Recommendations for reducing heterogeneity in handgrip strength protocols. The Journal of Frailty and Aging. 11:143-150. https://doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2022.21.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2022.21

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Handgrip dynamometers are widely used to measure handgrip strength (HGS). HGS is a safe and easy to obtain measure of strength capacity, and a reliable assessment of muscle function. Although HGS provides robust prognostic value and utility, several protocol variants exist for HGS in clinical settings and translational research. This lack of methodological consistency could threaten the precision of HGS measurements and limit comparisons between the growing number of studies measuring HGS. Providing awareness of the protocol variants for HGS and making suggestions to reduce the implications of these variants will help to improve methodological consistency. Moreover, leveraging recent advancements in HGS equipment may enable us to use more sophisticated HGS dynamometer technologies to better assess muscle function. This Special Article will 1) highlight differences in HGS protocols and instrumentation, 2) provide recommendations to better specify HGS procedures and equipment, and 3) present future research directions for studies that measure HGS. We also provided a minimum reporting criteria framework to help future research studies avoid underreporting of HGS procedures.