The study, published in the prestigious British Journal of Sports Medicine, highlights that muscle strength is a crucial predictor of long-term health. While its relationship with lower mortality was already known, this research expands the evidence by demonstrating its ability to anticipate the risk of developing conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, depression, functional disability, and neurodegenerative diseases like dementia or Parkinson's.
The research team, which included Professor Francisco Ortega from the University of Granada and José Castro Piñero from the University of Cádiz, analyzed 155 longitudinal studies in adults. Of these, 94 were included in a meta-analysis to identify which simple muscle strength tests could serve as early health indicators.
Individuals with greater muscle strength show a lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, depression, functional disability, or neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia or Parkinson's.
The results emphasize that handgrip strength and the ability to stand up and sit down from a chair five times are effective tests. Given their simplicity, speed, and low cost, researchers suggest that these assessments could be integrated into routine clinical practice and public health programs. This would allow for early identification of individuals at higher risk, facilitating preventive interventions based on physical exercise and healthy lifestyles, thereby contributing to healthier aging in the population.
The research also involved Nuria Marín Jiménez from the University of Almería, and Bruno Bizzozero-Peroni from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, along with specialists from various institutions across Europe, America, and Oceania, including the University of Ottawa and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Canada, the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, Adelaide University in Australia, and the University of Castilla-La Mancha.
