Korean J Fam Pract.  2021 Jun;11(3):170-176. 10.21215/kjfp.2021.11.3.170.

Association between Sleep Duration and Hand Grip Strength in Korean Elderly

• Lee HN
• Shim KW
• Lee SW
• Lee HS
• Cho YK
• Byun AR

• KMID: 2516840
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2021.11.3.170

Abstract

Background
In an aged society, studies on sleep duration and hand grip strength are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of sleep duration and hand grip strength among a large sample of Korean older adults.
Methods
This study is based on data from 2014–2015 from the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The total number of participants who were over the age of 65 years was 2,104. Participants were classified into four groups according to self-reported sleep duration. Muscle power was estimated using hand grip strength. The association between sleep duration and hand grip strength was analyzed using ANOVA and ANCOVA.
Results
There was a statistically significant correlation between sleep duration and hand grip strength; After controlling for covariates, a sleep duration of shorter than 4 hours (estimated mean [95% confidence interval, CI]: 25.91±0.44) was associated with a weaker dominant hand grip strength than an average sleep duration of 7–8 hours (estimated mean [95% CI]: 27.20±0.25) (P=0.027). However, when stratified by sex, only female with a sleep duration of longer than 9 hours (estimated mean [95% CI]: 18.88±0.41) had a significantly weaker non-dominant hand grip strength than those with an average sleep duration of 7–8 hours (estimated mean [95% CI]: 19.85±0.24).
Conclusion
An inappropriate sleep duration in older adults was associated with a lower hand grip strength. This finding suggests that decreased muscle power may mediate the relationship between short sleep duration and adverse health outcomes.

Keyword

Older Adults; Sleep Duration; Hand Grip Strength; Muscle Power