title: Association between hand grip/body weight ratio and disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders: a population-based cohort study of 1 million Swedish men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the predictive value of hand grip/body weight ratio and hand grip strength in early adulthood for obtaining a disability pension (DP) due to musculoskeletal disorders in later life.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nationwide population-based sample of men born 1951-76 (n=1,387,166) in Sweden and anthropometric and strength indicators from their conscription examination. Register data on the date and diagnoses of granted DP between the years 1971-2006. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The lowest quintile of hand grip/body weight ratio predicted a greatly increased risk (HR 2.51, 95% CI 2.40-2.63) for DP due to musculoskeletal disorders compared to the mid-quintile. The highest quintile of hand grip/body weight ratio predicted a decreased risk (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.75-0.84). Stratification of the hand grip/body weight ratio with body mass index confirmed the results. However, the highest quintiles of hand grip strength adjusted for height and weight predicted a somewhat increased risk for DP due to musculoskeletal disorders (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.18-1.32).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that the hand grip/body weight ratio in young adulthood is strongly and inversely associated with men's risk of obtaining a disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders in later life. However, the risk seems to be mediated through the body weight. The properties of hand grip/body weight ratio should be further evaluated before it can be recommended for use in clinical and epidemiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Annina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ropponen
authors.forename: Karri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Silventoinen
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tynelius
authors.forename: Finn
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010415:Pensions; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult