Hand grip strength before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection in community-dwelling older adults

J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Oct;69(10):2722-2731. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17335. Epub 2021 Jun 19.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and decreased hand grip strength (HGS).

Design: Longitudinal population-based study.

Setting: Community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥60 years) living in a rural Ecuadorian village struck by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Participants: Of 282 enrolled individuals, 254 (90%) finished the study.

Measurements: HGS was measured 3 months before (January 2020) and 9 months after the introduction of the virus into the population (January 2021). SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing was performed in two rounds: in May-June (early) and September-November (late), 2020. An independent association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and HGS decline was assessed by fitting linear mixed models for longitudinal data. Changes in HGS scores in SARS-CoV-2 seropositive subjects, according to the time elapsed since seroconversion, were compared with those who remained seronegative.

Results: Overall, 149 (59%) individuals became seropositive for SARS-CoV-2. The mean HGS (in kg) was 25.3 ± 8.3 at baseline and 23.7 ± 8.1 at follow-up (p = 0.028), with 140 individuals having >5% HGS decline between both measurements. The follow-up HGS measurement decreased by 1.72 kg in seropositive individuals, and by 0.57 kg in their seronegative counterparts (p < 0.001). SARS-CoV-2 seropositive individuals were 2.27 times more likely (95% CI: 1.33-3.87) to have a lower HGS measurement at the time of follow-up than those who remained seronegative. When compared with seronegative subjects, seropositive patients with early seroconversion were 3.41 times (95% CI: 1.73-6.74) more likely to have >5% HGS decline at the time of the follow-up than those with later, i.e., more recent, infections.

Conclusions: This study shows an independent deleterious impact of SARS-CoV-2 on HGS that is more marked among individuals with infections that occurred more than 8 months before follow-up HGS. Results suggest the possibility of chronic damage to skeletal muscles by SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; hand grip; older adults; rural communities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aftercare / methods
  • Aftercare / statistics & numerical data
  • Aged
  • COVID-19 / complications*
  • COVID-19 / diagnosis
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / physiopathology
  • COVID-19 Serological Testing / methods
  • Ecuador / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Geriatric Assessment* / methods
  • Geriatric Assessment* / statistics & numerical data
  • Hand Strength*
  • Health Services for the Aged / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Independent Living / statistics & numerical data
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
  • Rural Population
  • SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification*