Handgrip strength and flexibility and their association with anthropometric variables in the elderly

To verify the correlation between handgrip strength (HGS) and flexibility with age and anthropometric variables in the elderly. This was a cross-sectional home-based study of elderly individuals enrolled in the Family Health Strategy of Campina Grande/PB. Gender, age, HGS, flexibility, arm muscle circumference (AMC), corrected arm muscle area (CAMA), and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. A total of 420 elderly individuals were evaluated. Correlations of HGS with age, AMC and CAMA, in both genders, were observed. BMI correlated with HGS only in females. Flexibility correlated with BMI in males. In the multivariate analysis, age and AMC were predictive variables of the HGS variation in females. In males, age was the only variable predictive of HGS, and BMI was the predictor of flexibility variation. The results indicate a probable influence of age and anthropometric variables in muscular strength, as well as that of excess weight in flexibility limitation. Verificar a correlação da força de preensão manual (FPM) e flexibilidade com idade e variáveis antropométricas em idosos. Este estudo é transversal, domiciliar, realizado com idosos cadastrados na Estratégia Saúde da Família de Campina Grande/PB. Foram verificados: sexo, grupo etário, força de preensão manual, flexibilidade, circunferência muscular do braço (CMB), área muscular do braço corrigida (AMBc) e índice de massa corporal (IMC). Foram avaliados 420 idosos. Verificaram-se correlações da FPM com idade, CMB e AMBc, em ambos os sexos. O IMC apresentou correlação com FPM apenas no sexo feminino.