The association between walking pace and grip strength and all-cause mortality: A prospective analysis from the MAUCO cohort

• Published in: Maturitas 2023-02, Vol.168, p.37-43
• Main Authors: Petermann-Rocha, Fanny, Parra-Soto, Solange, Cid, Vicente, Venegas, Pia, Huidobro, Andrea, Ferreccio, Catterina, Celis-Morales, Carlos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ageing; Grip strength; Mortality; Walking pace
• ISSN: 0378-5122; 1873-4111
• DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2022.11.004

•Grip strength and walking pace are simple tests for clinical and research use and have a good predictive ability to identify people at higher risk of mortality.•Slow walking pace and low grip strength – investigated both in isolation and in combination – were associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality in Chilean adults even after adjusting for a wide range of potential confounding factors.•The results highlight the relevance and implications of assessment of these markers. This study investigated the individual and combined association of walking pace and grip strength with all-cause mortality in Chilean adults. 8813 participants (54.6 % women) from the MAUCO population-based cohort were included in this prospective study. Individual and combined associations of grip strength (normal or low grip) and walking pace (normal or slow walking) with all-cause mortality were investigated using Cox proportional-hazard models. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors. Over a median follow-up of 4.74 years, 151 and 206 participants included in the analyses of walking pace and grip strength died. Individuals with low grip strength had a risk of dying 2.40 times (95 % CI: 1.64 to 3.51) higher than their counterparts with normal grip strength. Similar results were identified for slow walkers (HR: 1.77 [95 % CI: 1.25 to 2.50]). When the two factors were combined and the associations investigated, individuals with normal walking pace but with low grip strength had a higher risk of all-cause mortality than those with normal walking pace and normal grip strength (HR: 3.56 [95 % CI: 1.99 to 6.36]). The associations remained even after including a 1- and 2-year landmark period in the analyses. Slow walking pace and low grip strength were associated with a higher risk of mortality (both in isolation and combined). These factors might be early markers of all-cause mortality, and should be measured more frequently in middle-aged and older adults in clinical practice.