Association between handgrip strength and muscle mass in children 6 to 10 years old.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sarcopenia, defined as a muscle mass loss and function, is increasingly recognized in pediatric populations, particularly in childhood obesity. Therefore, it is necessary to have measurements that can distinguish between muscle and fat mass. Methods of body composition such as Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) provide accurate assessments of body composition, but they are resource-intensive and impractical for routine monitoring in clinical or community settings. To address this, handgrip strength (HGS) may be used for assessing muscle mass. This study investigates the association between muscle mass and HGS in children aged 6-10 years.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study of 110 participants was conducted with children aged 6-10 years who could follow instructions in English, lay still for 6-7 min, and had not entered puberty. Children with disabilities that affected muscle mass or hand strength were excluded. Height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured. Pearson correlations between all body composition measurements and HGS were conducted. The best predictors of muscle mass were determined using stepwise analysis.

RESULTS

A significant correlation between HGS and fat-free mass index (FFMI) (R = 0.39) (p < 0.001) among children aged 6-10 years and lean body mass index (LBMI) (R = 0.42) (p = 0.005) in children aged 8-10 years old was found. HGS with BMI (p < 0.0001) were the best predictors of FFMI and LBMI.

CONCLUSION

HGS was associated with muscle mass and may provide insight on body composition changes in children. Integrating HGS with BMI into routine clinical practice could enhance comprehensive evaluation of body composition.