Handgrip strength and/or Timed Up and Go Test are associated with functional independence and psychological well-being in older women

Background Handgrip strength (HGS) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests are established measures of physical capacity and widely utilized in geriatric assessments. We aimed to assess their independent and combined association with activity of daily living (ADL) and psychological life satisfaction (LS). Methods Data were analysed from 684 community-dwelling aging women (mean age 81.2 years [SD 2.5]) in the 30-year follow-up (2019) of the Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention Study (OSTPRE). Relationships of physical capacity measures (HGS: low < 16 kg vs. normal ≥ 16 kg; TUG: slow ≥ 20 s vs. normal < 20 s; both also analyzed continuously) with ADL and LS were examined using independent-samples t-tests, multiple linear regression and restricted cubic spline models. Combined associations were assessed using a four-level combined HGS–TUG variable. Results After adjustments, both low HGS and slow TUG were associated with lower ADL scores (HGS: B = -1.97; TUG: B = -2.98; both p < 0.001) and worse LS (HGS: B = 0.69; TUG: B = 0.96; both p < 0.05). Combined physical capacity impairments (i.e. HGS and TUG) showed the largest deficits in ADL (B = -4.09, p < 0.001) and LS (B = 1.42, p < 0.05). Conclusions Among women in their eighties, reduced HGS and slower TUG were associated with poorer functional independence and subjective well-being, with the largest effect estimates observed when both were impaired. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to clarify the direction and clinical relevance of these associations.