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A study on hand grip strength and its association with body mass index, hand length and mid-upper arm circumference among Eastern Indian medical students using a hand-held dynamometer
Affiliations- Graduate Medical Student, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Science and Hospital, Kolkata, India
- Department of Physiology, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Science and Hospital, Kolkata, India
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Abstract
Introduction: Hand Grip Strength, measured by hand-grip dynamometry, is a measure of muscular
strength. This cross-sectional study was performed to determine the correlation between Hand Grip
Strength (HGS) and different anthropometric measurements like Body Mass Index (BMI), Hand Length
(HL) and Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) among undergraduate medical students of a Tertiary
Health Care Institute in West Bengal.
Material and methods: This research, which was cross-sectional, analytical, and observational, had two groups
of fifty male and fifty female participants in the 19–25 age range. An analogue, basic metal hand-grip dynamometer
weighing 50 kg was used. The recorded HGS value was the average of three trials, with a 15-second
inter-trial rest interval between each trial. For Statistical Analysis, Tests of Significance (Student’s t-test
and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient) have been used. P-values ≤ 0.05 have been considered significant.
Results: A hundred undergraduate medical students of the age group 19–25 years were divided into
two groups, male (50) and female (50). A significant strong positive correlation of HL (r = 0.6308,
p < 0.00001) with Dominant Hand Grip Strength (DHGS) was found in the general population. However,
no significant correlation of BMI (r = 0.0831, p = 0.411091) with DHGS was observed. A significant weak
positive correlation of age (r = 0.2790, p = 0.004939) with DHGS was observed and a significant moderate
positive correlation of MUAC (r = 0.4035, p = 0.000031) with DHGS was seen. Significant weak positive
correlations of HL (r = 0.3227, p = 0.022275) and MUAC (r = 0.3788, p = 0.006674) with DHGS were
observed for females. Males recorded greater values of DHGS (17.6526 kg) and NDHGS (16.7430 kg)
than females (DHGS = 7.3856 kg, NDHGS = 6.6404 kg) and the difference was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Thus, it may be concluded that the most significant predictor of hand grip strength (HGS)
is hand length (HL).
Abstract
Introduction: Hand Grip Strength, measured by hand-grip dynamometry, is a measure of muscular
strength. This cross-sectional study was performed to determine the correlation between Hand Grip
Strength (HGS) and different anthropometric measurements like Body Mass Index (BMI), Hand Length
(HL) and Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) among undergraduate medical students of a Tertiary
Health Care Institute in West Bengal.
Material and methods: This research, which was cross-sectional, analytical, and observational, had two groups
of fifty male and fifty female participants in the 19–25 age range. An analogue, basic metal hand-grip dynamometer
weighing 50 kg was used. The recorded HGS value was the average of three trials, with a 15-second
inter-trial rest interval between each trial. For Statistical Analysis, Tests of Significance (Student’s t-test
and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient) have been used. P-values ≤ 0.05 have been considered significant.
Results: A hundred undergraduate medical students of the age group 19–25 years were divided into
two groups, male (50) and female (50). A significant strong positive correlation of HL (r = 0.6308,
p < 0.00001) with Dominant Hand Grip Strength (DHGS) was found in the general population. However,
no significant correlation of BMI (r = 0.0831, p = 0.411091) with DHGS was observed. A significant weak
positive correlation of age (r = 0.2790, p = 0.004939) with DHGS was observed and a significant moderate
positive correlation of MUAC (r = 0.4035, p = 0.000031) with DHGS was seen. Significant weak positive
correlations of HL (r = 0.3227, p = 0.022275) and MUAC (r = 0.3788, p = 0.006674) with DHGS were
observed for females. Males recorded greater values of DHGS (17.6526 kg) and NDHGS (16.7430 kg)
than females (DHGS = 7.3856 kg, NDHGS = 6.6404 kg) and the difference was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Thus, it may be concluded that the most significant predictor of hand grip strength (HGS)
is hand length (HL).
Keywords
Hand grip strength; body mass index; hand length; mid-upper arm circumference; hand-held dynamometer
About this articleTitle
A study on hand grip strength and its association with body mass index, hand length and mid-upper arm circumference among Eastern Indian medical students using a hand-held dynamometer
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
35-41
Published online
2024-01-16
Page views
392
Article views/downloads
199
DOI
Bibliographic record
Medical Research Journal 2024;9(1):35-41.
Keywords
Hand grip strength
body mass index
hand length
mid-upper arm circumference
hand-held dynamometer
Authors
Ahana Chattopadhyay
Saswati Ray
Debarati Chanda
Debjani Chakraborti
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