Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries
Objectives Muscular strength represents a specific component of health-related fitness. Hand grip strength (HGS) is used as an indicator for musculoskeletal fitness in children. HGS can also be used as a marker of cardiometabolic risk, but most available HGS data are derived from Western high-income...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-06-01
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| author | Juerg Utzinger Nicole Probst-Hensch Honorati Masanja Uwe Pühse Bassirou Bonfoh Ivan Müller Cheryl Walter Rosa Du Randt Stefanie Gall Siphesihle Nqweniso Peter Steinmann Markus Gerber Fredros O Okumu Serge Ayekoé Jean T Coulibaly Dao Daouda Bomey Clément Gba Benal Kouassi Sylvain G Traoré Marceline F Finda Elihaika G Minja Getrud J Mollel Johanna Beckmann Christin Lang Kurt Z Long |
| author_facet | Juerg Utzinger Nicole Probst-Hensch Honorati Masanja Uwe Pühse Bassirou Bonfoh Ivan Müller Cheryl Walter Rosa Du Randt Stefanie Gall Siphesihle Nqweniso Peter Steinmann Markus Gerber Fredros O Okumu Serge Ayekoé Jean T Coulibaly Dao Daouda Bomey Clément Gba Benal Kouassi Sylvain G Traoré Marceline F Finda Elihaika G Minja Getrud J Mollel Johanna Beckmann Christin Lang Kurt Z Long |
| author_sort | Juerg Utzinger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives Muscular strength represents a specific component of health-related fitness. Hand grip strength (HGS) is used as an indicator for musculoskeletal fitness in children. HGS can also be used as a marker of cardiometabolic risk, but most available HGS data are derived from Western high-income countries. Therefore, this study examines whether HGS is associated with body composition and markers of cardiovascular risk in children from three sub-Saharan African countries.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting Public primary schools (grade 1–4) in Taabo (Côte d’Ivoire), Gqeberha (South Africa) and Ifakara (Tanzania).Participants Data from 467 children from Côte d’Ivoire (210 boys, 257 girls), 864 children from South Africa (429 boys, 435 girls) and 695 children from Tanzania (334 boys, 361 girls) were analysed.Primary and secondary outcome measures Body composition (assessed via bioelectrical impedance analysis) was the primary outcome. Cardiovascular risk markers were considered as secondary outcome. Blood pressure was measured with an oscillometric monitor, and blood markers (cholesterol, triglycerides, glycated haemoglobin) via Afinion point-of-care testing. HGS (independent variable) was assessed with a hydraulic hand dynamometer. Inferential statistics are based on mixed linear regressions and analyses of covariance.Results Across all study sites, higher HGS was associated with lower body fat, higher muscle mass and higher fat-free mass (p<0.001, 3.9%–10.0% explained variance), both in boys and girls. No consistent association was found between HGS and cardiovascular risk markers.Conclusions HGS assessment is popular due to its simplicity, feasibility, practical utility and high reliability of measurements. This is one of the first HGS studies with children from sub-Saharan Africa. There is a great need for further studies to examine whether our findings can be replicated, to develop reference values for African children, to establish links to other health outcomes, and to explore whether HGS is associated with later development of cardiovascular risk markers.Trial registration number ISRCTN29534081. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4c67880996d64a44bb0d940a58e0c06f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
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| spelling | doaj-art-4c67880996d64a44bb0d940a58e0c06f2025-02-01T11:50:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-06-0112610.1136/bmjopen-2021-052326Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countriesJuerg Utzinger0Nicole Probst-Hensch1Honorati Masanja2Uwe Pühse3Bassirou Bonfoh4Ivan Müller5Cheryl Walter6Rosa Du Randt7Stefanie Gall8Siphesihle Nqweniso9Peter Steinmann10Markus Gerber11Fredros O Okumu12Serge Ayekoé13Jean T Coulibaly14Dao Daouda15Bomey Clément Gba16Benal Kouassi17Sylvain G Traoré18Marceline F Finda19Elihaika G Minja20Getrud J Mollel21Johanna Beckmann22Christin Lang23Kurt Z Long24Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, SwitzerlandSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, SwitzerlandIfakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania1 Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandCentre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Cote d`Ivoire, Abidjan, Lagunes, Côte d`Ivoire1 Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland2 Department of Human Movement Science, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaNelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa1 Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland2 Department of Human Movement Science, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaUniversity of Basel, Basel, Switzerland1 Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandIfakara Health Institute, Ifakara/Dar es Salam, United Republic of TanzaniaInstitut National de la Jeunesse et des Sports, Abidjan, Côte d`IvoireCentre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d`IvoireCentre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d`IvoireCentre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d`IvoireCentre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d`IvoireUniversité Peleforo Gon Coulibaly, Korhogo, Côte d`IvoireIfakara Health Institute, Ifakara/Dar es Salam, United Republic of TanzaniaIfakara Health Institute, Ifakara/Dar es Salam, United Republic of TanzaniaIfakara Health Institute, Ifakara/Dar es Salam, United Republic of TanzaniaUniversity of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandUniversity of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandUniversity of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandObjectives Muscular strength represents a specific component of health-related fitness. Hand grip strength (HGS) is used as an indicator for musculoskeletal fitness in children. HGS can also be used as a marker of cardiometabolic risk, but most available HGS data are derived from Western high-income countries. Therefore, this study examines whether HGS is associated with body composition and markers of cardiovascular risk in children from three sub-Saharan African countries.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting Public primary schools (grade 1–4) in Taabo (Côte d’Ivoire), Gqeberha (South Africa) and Ifakara (Tanzania).Participants Data from 467 children from Côte d’Ivoire (210 boys, 257 girls), 864 children from South Africa (429 boys, 435 girls) and 695 children from Tanzania (334 boys, 361 girls) were analysed.Primary and secondary outcome measures Body composition (assessed via bioelectrical impedance analysis) was the primary outcome. Cardiovascular risk markers were considered as secondary outcome. Blood pressure was measured with an oscillometric monitor, and blood markers (cholesterol, triglycerides, glycated haemoglobin) via Afinion point-of-care testing. HGS (independent variable) was assessed with a hydraulic hand dynamometer. Inferential statistics are based on mixed linear regressions and analyses of covariance.Results Across all study sites, higher HGS was associated with lower body fat, higher muscle mass and higher fat-free mass (p<0.001, 3.9%–10.0% explained variance), both in boys and girls. No consistent association was found between HGS and cardiovascular risk markers.Conclusions HGS assessment is popular due to its simplicity, feasibility, practical utility and high reliability of measurements. This is one of the first HGS studies with children from sub-Saharan Africa. There is a great need for further studies to examine whether our findings can be replicated, to develop reference values for African children, to establish links to other health outcomes, and to explore whether HGS is associated with later development of cardiovascular risk markers.Trial registration number ISRCTN29534081.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e052326.full |
| spellingShingle | Juerg Utzinger Nicole Probst-Hensch Honorati Masanja Uwe Pühse Bassirou Bonfoh Ivan Müller Cheryl Walter Rosa Du Randt Stefanie Gall Siphesihle Nqweniso Peter Steinmann Markus Gerber Fredros O Okumu Serge Ayekoé Jean T Coulibaly Dao Daouda Bomey Clément Gba Benal Kouassi Sylvain G Traoré Marceline F Finda Elihaika G Minja Getrud J Mollel Johanna Beckmann Christin Lang Kurt Z Long Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries BMJ Open |
| title | Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries |
| title_full | Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries |
| title_fullStr | Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries |
| title_short | Is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren? Cross-sectional data from three African countries |
| title_sort | is grip strength linked to body composition and cardiovascular risk markers in primary schoolchildren cross sectional data from three african countries |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e052326.full |
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