Arm muscle area is correlated to handgrip strength in postmenopausal women

• Published in: Gynecological endocrinology 2024-12, Vol.40 (1), p.2420937
• Main Authors: Álvarez-Córdova, Ludwig R, Artacho, Reyes, Chedraui, Peter, Arteaga-Pazmiño, Cecilia, Sánchez-Briones, Melissa, Ruiz-López, María D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; aging; Anthropometry; Arm - anatomy & histology; Arm - physiology; arm muscle area; Cross-Sectional Studies; Ecuador - epidemiology; Female; Hand Strength - physiology; Handgrip strength; Humans; manual dynamometry; Middle Aged; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; postmenopause; Postmenopause - physiology; Sarcopenia - epidemiology; Sarcopenia - physiopathology
• ISSN: 0951-3590; 1473-0766; 1473-0766
• DOI: 10.1080/09513590.2024.2420937

To analyze the correlation between arm muscle area and handgrip strength among postmenopausal community dwelling low-income women in order to provide an easy anthropometric indicator to assess muscle mass quantity and quality. This was a cross-sectional study involving postmenopausal women (  = 171) from three urban-marginal communities of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Corrected arm muscle area was calculated using the Frisancho formula. Dynapenia was defined as HGS < 16 kg. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated at a 5% significance level to test the correlation between corrected arm muscle area and handgrip strength. Median (interquartile range: IQR) age of the sample was 72.0 years (17.0). The median of corrected arm muscle area was 34.8 cm (20.7). The overall prevalence of dynapenia was 57.9% (  = 99). There was a significant decreasing trend with age regarding all anthropometric characteristics and handgrip strength, as well as a higher prevalence of dynapenia with age. For the whole sample, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between corrected arm muscle area and handgrip strength [  = 0.267;