Handgrip strength and associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors: A systematic review of the adult population

Objetives: The aim of this study was to identify studies on handgrip strength (HGS) and associations with sociodemographic variables and lifestyle in adults. Methods: Searches were performed in Scielo, PubMed, EBSCO, Lilacs, Scopus and Web of Science databases. Data extraction: Two blinded reviewers independently screened the articles, scored their methodological quality and extracted data. Quality assessment: The selected studies were analyzed according to the agreement of their findings with the evidence summary. Results: Overall, 18,038 studies were found and 26 articles were selected. Lower HGS levels were found in older individuals (n = 20), females (n = 13) and in those not engaged in physical activities (n = 5). Conclusions: Older adults, females, those of lower educational level and not physically active had lower HGS levels. The adoption of standardization in relation to specific cutoff points for HGS classification becomes necessary in order to allow better comparison of results. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.