Reduced handgrip strength and body mass index, gender, and diagnosis are associated with length of stay in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND

Handgrip strength assessment may be a useful indicator for nutritional diagnosis and association with outcomes.

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between handgrip strength and clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study with 100 patients, investigating clinical outcome variables and explanatory variables (disease, surgery, comorbidities, gender, age, handgrip strength, body mass index, and subjective global assessment). The χ2 test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation coefficient, simple and multiple Cox regression analysis, and the Poisson regression model were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The variables that, together, best explained the length of hospital stay were handgrip strength (p<0.0001; estimated parameter=-0.020432; standard error=0.003443), body mass index (p<0.0001; estimated parameter=-0.029020; standard error=0.004952), gender (p<0.0001; estimated parameter=0.302456; standard error=0.069615), and diagnosis. Body mass index and handgrip strength were inversely associated with the length of hospital stay. Male gender and vascular or orthopedic disease, compared to other diseases, were also associated with a higher length of hospital stay. No variable was considered an associated factor for complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Handgrip strength and body mass index were inversely associated with the length of hospital stay. Male gender and vascular or orthopedic disease, compared to other diseases, were associated with a higher length of hospital stay.