Low muscle strength is associated with metabolic risk factors in Colombian children: the ACFIES study.
OBJECTIVE
In youth, poor cardiorespiratory and muscular strength are associated with elevated metabolic risk factors. However, studies examining associations between strength and risk factors have been done exclusively in high income countries, and largely in Caucasian cohorts. The aim of this study was to assess these interactions in schoolchildren in Colombia, a middle income Latin American country.


METHODS
We measured body mass index, body composition, handgrip strength (HG), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and metabolic risk factors in 669 low-middle socioeconomic status Colombian schoolchildren (mean age 11.52±1.13, 47% female). Associations between HG, CRF and metabolic risk factors were evaluated.


RESULTS
HG and CRF were inversely associated with blood pressure, HOMA index and a composite metabolic risk score (p<0.001 for all) and HG was also inversely associated with triglycerides and C-reactive protein (CRP) (both p<0.05). Associations between HG and risk factors were marginally weakened after adjusting for CRF, while associations between CRF and these factors were substantially weakened after adjusting for HG. Linear regression analyses showed inverse associations between HG and systolic BP (β = -0.101; p = 0.047), diastolic BP (β = -0.241; p> = 0.001), HOMA (β = -0.164; p = 0.005), triglycerides (β = -0.583; p = 0.026) and CRP (β = -0.183; p = 0.037) but not glucose (p = 0.698) or HDL cholesterol (p = 0.132). The odds ratios for having clustered risk in the weakest quartile compared with the strongest quartile were 3.0 (95% confidence interval: 1.81-4.95).


CONCLUSIONS
In Colombian schoolchildren both poorer handgrip strength/kg body mass and cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with a worse metabolic risk profile. Associations were stronger and more consistent between handgrip and risk factors than between cardiorespiratory fitness and these risk factors. Our findings indicate the addition of handgrip dynamometry to non-invasive youth health surveillance programs would improve the accuracy of the assessment of cardio-metabolic health.
Dirección de Investigaciones, Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander (FOSCAL), Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia; Facultad de la Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Santander (UDES), Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia.
Daniel Dylan
DD
Cohen
Dirección de Investigaciones, Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander (FOSCAL), Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia; Facultad de la Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Santander (UDES), Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia.
Diego
D
Gómez-Arbeláez
Dirección de Investigaciones, Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander (FOSCAL), Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia.
Paul Anthony
PA
Camacho
Facultad de la Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Santander (UDES), Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia.
Sandra
S
Pinzon
Dirección de Investigaciones, Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander (FOSCAL), Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia.
Claudia
C
Hormiga
Facultad de la Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Santander (UDES), Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia.
Juanita
J
Trejos-Suarez
Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia.
John
J
Duperly
Dirección de Investigaciones, Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander (FOSCAL), Floridablanca, Santander, Colombia; Facultad de la Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Santander (UDES), Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia.
Patricio
P
Lopez-Jaramillo
D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D053580:Muscle Strength; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein