Dose-response association between handgrip strength and hypertension: A longitudinal study of 76 503 European older adults

To examine the prospective dose-response association between handgrip strength and the incidence of hypertension in a representative sample of older European adults. We retrieved data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) waves 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Handgrip strength was measured and participants reported whether they had a medical diagnosis of hypertension. We assessed the longitudinal dose-response associations of handgrip strength with hypertension using restricted cubic splines. During the follow-up, 27,149 (35.5%) were diagnosed with incident hypertension. At the fully adjusted model, the minimum and optimal dose of handgrip strength for a significant reduction in the risk of hypertension was 28 Kg (HR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.89-0.96) and 54 Kg (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.78-0.89), respectively. There exists an association between increased handgrip strength and reduced risk of developing hypertension in older European adults.