Does grip strength associate with disease-specific incidence and mortality, and can it improve the predictive ability of an existing office-based risk score?
Grip-Strength Dynamometer, studied in 502,293 participants (BMJ 2018, PMID 29739772) — muscle weakness (grip strength <26 kg for men, <16 kg for women) was linked to higher hazards for most health outcomes, except colon cancer in women and prostate/lung cancer in both sexes. Prostate cancer showed no significant association (1.05).
Source: BMJ 2018, PMID 29739772 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: high
BMJ · 2018 · PMID 29739772 · DOI 10.1136/bmj.k1651
Lower grip strength is associated with increased risk of mortality and various diseases, and can improve the accuracy of health risk predictions.
The question
Does grip strength associate with disease-specific incidence and mortality, and can it improve the predictive ability of an existing office-based risk score?
What they tested
The study implicitly hypothesizes that lower grip strength will be associated with higher incidence and mortality from various diseases, and that adding grip strength to an office-based risk score will enhance its predictive power.
How they did it
This was a prospective population-based study using data from the UK Biobank, involving 502,293 participants (54% women) aged 40-69 years. The study followed participants for a mean of 7.1 years to assess all-cause mortality and incidence/mortality from cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, COPD, and various cancers.
What they found
Over a mean follow-up of 7.1 years, 13,322 (2.7%) participants died. For every 5 kg lower grip strength, hazard ratios were significantly higher for all-cause mortality (1.20 for women, 1.16 for men) and cause-specific mortality from cardiovascular disease (1.19 women, 1.22 men), respiratory disease (1.31 women, 1.24 men), COPD (1.24 women, 1.19 men), all cancer (1.17 women, 1.10 men), colorectal cancer (1.17 women, 1.18 men), lung cancer (1.17 women, 1.08 men), and breast cancer (1.24 women). Prostate cancer showed no significant association (1.05). Muscle weakness (grip strength <26 kg for men, <16 kg for women) was linked to higher hazards for most health outcomes, except colon cancer in women and prostate/lung cancer in both sexes. Adding handgrip strength improved the C-index for predicting all-cause mortality (0.013), cardiovascular mortality (0.012), and cardiovascular disease incidence (0.009).
| All-cause mortality (women) | 1.2 | |
|---|---|---|
| All-cause mortality (men) | 1.16 | |
| Cardiovascular mortality (women) | 1.19 | |
| Cardiovascular mortality (men) | 1.22 | |
| Respiratory mortality (women) | 1.31 | |
| Respiratory mortality (men) | 1.24 | |
| COPD mortality (women) | 1.24 | |
| COPD mortality (men) | 1.19 | |
| All cancer mortality (women) | 1.17 | |
| All cancer mortality (men) | 1.1 | |
| Colorectal cancer mortality (women) | 1.17 | |
| Colorectal cancer mortality (men) | 1.18 | |
| Lung cancer mortality (women) | 1.17 | |
| Lung cancer mortality (men) | 1.08 | |
| Breast cancer mortality (women) | 1.24 | |
| Prostate cancer mortality (men) | 1.05 |
Hazard ratios for various mortality outcomes per 5 kg lower grip strength in women and men.
What it means
Higher grip strength is associated with a range of positive health outcomes, and its inclusion significantly improves the predictive ability of an established office-based risk score for several key health indicators.
Limitations
The abstract does not explicitly state limitations of the study.
Where the published abstract does not list limitations, we say so rather than inventing them. Read the full paper on PubMed before drawing conclusions.
The paper at a glance
| Magellan’s evidence label | Handgrip strength (muscle strength) (our label for this citation — see PubMed for the paper’s own title and authors) |
|---|---|
| Journal | BMJ |
| Year | 2018 |
| PMID | 29739772 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1136/bmj.k1651 ↗ |
| Topic | Muscle, strength & physical function |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
Where Magellan uses this paper
This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.
Grip-Strength Dynamometer
Across large prospective cohorts and meta-analyses, lower grip strength is consistently associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, incident cardiovascular disease, disability, and, in some studies, cognitive decline and depression, often predicting outcomes as well as or better than systolic blood…
Hand Grip Dynamometer Pro
Across large prospective cohorts (notably the 17-country PURE study and UK Biobank) and multiple meta-analyses pooling millions of participants, lower grip strength is consistently and independently associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and with cognitive decline, disability, sarcopenia and…
A hand-grip (handgrip) dynamometer is a simple handheld device that measures the maximal isometric…
A hand-grip dynamometer measures the maximal isometric force generated by the muscles of the hand and…
Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.
Molecules & mechanisms in this paper
Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). Does grip strength associate with disease-specific incidence and mortality, and can it improve the predictive ability of an existing office-based risk score? [Plain-English summary of BMJ 2018, PMID 29739772, DOI 10.1136/bmj.k1651]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s153.html@misc{magellan_s153,
title = {Does grip strength associate with disease-specific incidence and mortality, and can it improve the predictive ability of an existing office-based risk score?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s153.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 29739772; DOI 10.1136/bmj.k1651; BMJ 2018. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
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