Aim: To establish normative reference values for handgrip strength (HGS) in Malaysian older adults using cross-sectional data from the LRGS-TUA cohort study. Methods: We analyzed data from 2180 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 60 years enrolled in the LRGS-TUA longitudinal study. Sex-specific percentile curves and age-specific normative reference values for absolute and body weight-normalized HGS were generated using the lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) method. We compared the prevalence of low HGS using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 cutoffs versus lowest quintile thresholds and assessed their associations with sarcopenia-related outcomes. Results: Peak mean absolute HGS occurred at age 60– 64 years for both men (30.9 ± 6.6 kg) and women (19.7 ± 4.8 kg). Peak normalized HGS was observed at 65– 69 years for men (0.47 ± 0.11 kgf/kg) and at 60– 64 years for women (0.33 ± 0.09 kgf/kg), with women maintaining stable values through 70– 74 years. The AWGS 2019 criteria identified substantially higher prevalence of low HGS (men: 46.2%; women: 48.7%) compared to lowest quintile thresholds (men: 19.6%; women: 20.1%). Both definitions demonstrated significant correlations with sarcopenia-related outcomes. Conclusion: Low handgrip strength prevalence was higher using AWGS 2019 criteria, though both definitions showed similar associations with sarcopenia-related outcomes. Their relative clinical utility requires confirmation through longitudinal validation. Keywords: handgrip strength, normative reference value, older adults, sarcopenia
Ooi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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