Association between Handgrip Strength and the Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index: A Nationwide Study, NHANES 2011–2014

Abstract

(1) Background: The Systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) has been proven to be an effective biomarker of human immune and inflammatory levels and has prognostic significance for most diseases. Handgrip strength (HGS) is a simple and low-cost strength measurement method, which is not only highly correlated with overall muscle strength but also accurately and reliably predicts the risk of multiple chronic diseases and mortality; (2) Purpose: Association between HGS and the SII is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between HGS and the SII in American adults; (3) Methods: We used the data from the 2011–2012 and 2013–2014 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), involving a total of 8232 American adults (aged 18–80 years). The SII was calculated as the Platelet count × Neutrophil count/Lymphocyte count; HGS was recorded as the ratio of the sum of the highest grip-strength values of each hand to body mass index taken as the relative grip strength. A weighted generalized linear regression model and analysis of restricted cubic spline regression, adjusted for confounding factors, were used in this study to assess associations between HGS and the SII in American adults; (4) Results: There was a negative correlation between the HGS and the SII of different sexes (p < 0.05), and there was a significant negative nonlinear relationship between the HGS and the SII in males (p for nonlinear = 0.0035), and the SII showed a downward trend with the increase in the HGS in males (Q2: β = −61.03, p = 0.01; Q3: β = −61.28, p = 0.04, Q4: β = −64.36, p = 0.03, p for trend = 0.04), when the HGS exceeds 3.16, with the HGS increasing, the downward trend of increasing the SII slowed down. The nonlinear relationship between the HGS and the SII in females was not significant (p for nonlinear = 0.1011), and the SII showed a linear downward trend with the increase in the HGS (Q2: β = −24.91, p = 0.25; Q3: β = −62.01, p = 0.03, Q4: β = −74.94, p = 0.03, p for trend = 0.01); (5) Conclusion: HGS is inversely and independently associated with SII levels, and although the limited cubic spline regression analysis showed gender differences, the overall trend of the HGS and the SII in different genders was consistent, with both showing that the SII decreased with increasing the HGS. In addition, HGS has high general applicability based on its ease of measurement; it is possible to understand one’s own grip-strength level through routine grip-strength tests, and to make preliminary predictions on the current level of immunity and inflammation in the body.

Associations between pinch strength, cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis

“…Insulin resistance correlates with CVD and contributes to kidney function decline in CKD patients (32), and CVD accelerates mortality in CKD patients (3). A study in the US associated lower systemic immune-in ammation with increasing HGS (33), consistent with our observation of lower IL-6 levels in those with higher PS and HGS. Third, in ammatory-oxidative stress can lead to muscle wasting by impairing anabolism and increasing proteolysis (34).…”

Chronic Astrocytic TNFα Production in the Preoptic-Basal Forebrain Causes Aging-like Sleep–Wake Disturbances in Young Mice

“…In humans, reduced grip strength is linked to functional decline and elevated markers of systemic inflammation [ 81 , 82 ], which correlates with reduced skeletal muscle strength and mass [ 83 , 84 ]. Although we did not measure systemic proinflammatory markers in TNFα mice, evidence suggests that central transgenic overproduction of TNFα in mice may not elevate TNFα levels in serum [ 85 ], implying that central and peripheral inflammation in TNFα mice may not reach levels detrimental to open-field and rotarod performance.…”

Pro-Inflammatory Biomarkers Combined with Body Composition Display a Strong Association with Knee Osteoarthritis in a Community-Based Study

“…SII is a recently developed indicator applied to predict the risk of chronic inflammation disorders, such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease [ 57 ], osteoporosis [ 58 ], sarcopenia [ 59 ], inflammatory arthritides—psoriatic arthritis [ 60 ]—ankylosing spondylitis [ 60 ], and RA [ 61 ]. The association of SII with KOA, discovered in this study, is likely to be the first report on OA.…”