Strength of Handshake Reflects Disease Risk

“Grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual’s risk of death and cardiovascular disease.” Principal investigator Dr. Darryl Leong suggested.

Researchers from Canada’s McMaster University found that a handshake is a better indicator of your health than your blood pressure. They measured muscle strength in nearly 140,000 adults over four years in 17 countries. Using a handgrip dynamometer, they found that for every 5-kilogram decline in grip strength, there was a 17 percent increased risk of death from any cause without considering the participants’ age, gender, education, physical activity or their countries’ wealth.

Writing in the journal The Lancet, they reported that reduced grip strength was consistently linked with early death, disability and illness. Thou according to Dr. Leong it is not cleared yet whether working to strengthen your grip also improves your health.