title: Predictors of handgrip strength among adults of a rural community in Malaysia.
abstract: Handgrip strength is useful for screening the nutritional status of adult population as it is strongly associated with physical disabilities and mortality. Therefore, we aimed to determine the predictors of handgrip strength among adults of a rural community in Malaysia using a cross-sectional study design with multistage sampling. All adults aged 30 years and older from 1250 households were invited to our study. Structured questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, occupation history, lifestyle practices, and measurements, including anthropometry and handgrip strength were taken. There were 2199 respondents with 55.2% females and majority were of Malay ethnicity. Their mean (standard deviation) age was 53.4 (13.2) years. The response rate for handgrip strength was 94.2%. Females had significantly lower handgrip strength than males (P < .05). In the multiple linear regression models, significant predictors of handgrip strength for males were age, height, job groups, and diabetes, while for females, the significant predictors were age, weight, height, and diabetes.
authors.affiliation: University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia moyfm@ummc.edu.my.
authors.forename: Foong-Ming
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Moy
authors.affiliation: University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Azlan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darus
authors.affiliation: University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Noran Naqiah
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Hairi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016014:Linear Models; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: handgrip strength; height; job groups; weight