Evaluation of the directional relationship between handgrip strength and cognitive function: the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Abstract

BACKGROUND: recent studies suggest that handgrip strength is linked with cognitive impairment at older ages. However, it remains unclear as to whether muscular strength influences subsequent cognitive performance, or whether lower levels of cognitive function increase the likelihood of muscle strength decline.

OBJECTIVE: to investigate the directional relationship between handgrip strength and cognitive impairment using longitudinal data among older adults.

METHODS: repeated measures of handgrip strength and cognitive function were collected in a sample of 5,995 participants of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) over a period of 8 years. Time-lagged general estimating equations, while accounting for correlation among repeated measures, was used to assess the temporal effect of handgrip strength on cognitive impairment and vice versa with adjustment for other confounding factors.

RESULTS: after adjustment, greater handgrip strength was related to subsequent reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment, such that participants in the highest quartile presented approximately 50% decrease in their risk of cognitive impairment [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.499 (95% CI 0.422 to 0.589] compared to the lowest quartile after controlling for potential confounding factors. Conversely, cognitive impairment was a significant predictor of reduced muscular strength [β regression coefficient -0.804, 95% CI, -1.168 to -0.439, for participants with dementia compared with those with normal cognitive function].

CONCLUSIONS: in conclusion, a significant bi-directional relationship was found between muscular strength and cognitive function, suggesting that these may have shared common pathways that are worthy of being further elucidated in future studies.