Hand grip strength and chair stand test amongst Greenlandic Inuit:reference values and international comparisons

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Bjerregaard, Peter, Ottendahl, Charlotte Brandstrup, Jørgensen, Marit Eika
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: chair stand test; greenland; Hand grip strength; inuit; older adults; reference values; Humans; Male; Female; Aged; Muscle Strength; Hand Strength; Greenland; Circumpolar Health; greenlandic; GRIP; International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Online Access: https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/3601e887-e7a3-43e1-b734-85770b174c87; https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2021.1966186; https://findresearcher.sdu.dk/ws/files/192095660/Open_Access_Version.pdf

Muscle strength is an important predictor for function and mortality among older adults. We measured hand grip strength among 1442 participants aged 15+ years and carried out a 30 second chair stand test among 786 participants aged 55+ years. Neither test has been carried out among the Inuit before. We present reference values for men and women as means with standard deviations and medians with 10 th , 25 th , 75 th and 90 th percentiles. Hand grip strength was higher among men than among women (means 45.2 kg and 25.8 kg; p < 0.0001), in linear regression analyses it increased with height (β men = 0.69; β women = 0.46), weight (β men = 0.24; β women = 0.08) and body mass index (β men = 0.56; β women = 0.24), and decreased with age (β men = −0.49; β women = −0.29) and Inuit genetic ancestry (β men = −0.96; β women = −0.59). Chair stand score showed similar associations with sex (mean score for men and women 13.8 and 11.5; p < 0.0001), age (β men = −0.22; β women = −0.20) and Inuit genetic ancestry (β men = −0.38; β women = −0.41). The hand grip strength of the Inuit was at the same level as in European and North American populations whereas chair stand score was lower than that of a mostly white US population.