Association of nutritional status with handgrip strength in patients with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Objective Evaluation of handgrip strength with indicators of nutritional status in chronic kidney disease patients. Methods This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study, with an analytical approach conducted at Hospital das Clínicas de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, between May and September 2022. Demographic, clinical, anthropometric and biochemical variables were evaluated. Individuals, males and females, were classified with low or high handgrip strength. The upper left or right limb was assessed, based on a national reference standard. Results: A total of 81 patients of both genders were included in the investigation. Their mean age was 54.69±16.03 years. According to the muscle mass index, 12.3% and 18.7% of adult and elderly patients were classified as malnourished respectively. Regarding handgrip strength (HGS), 92.4% of the participants were classified as low handgrip strength patients. These had a higher mean age (55.81±15.91), lower mean height (1.61±0.09) and reduced arm muscle circumference (23.48±4 .24), showing a statistical significance of p=0.025; 0.045 and 0.022 respectively. Conclusion It can be concluded that low handgrip strength is associated with patients’ reduced muscle mass and older age, and it is suggested that handgrip strength can be used routinely in the clinical practice as a predictor of loss of lean mass in chronic kidney disease patients.