Handgrip Strength is an Independent Predictor of Functional Outcome in Hip-Fracture Women: A Prospective Study With 6-Month Follow-Up

The objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of handgrip strength in predicting the functional outcome after hip fracture in women. We prospectively investigated white women (N = 193 of 207) who were consecutively admitted to a rehabilitation hospital after a hip fracture. We measured handgrip strength with a Jamar dynamometer (Lafayette Instrument Co, Lafayette, IN), on admission to rehabilitation. Ability to function in activities of daily living was assessed by the Barthel index both on discharge from rehabilitation and at a 6-month follow-up. We found significant correlations between handgrip strength measured before rehabilitation and Barthel index scores assessed both on discharge from rehabilitation (ρ = 0.52, P < 0.001) and after 6 months (ρ = 0.49, P < 0.001). Significant associations between handgrip strength and Barthel index scores persisted after adjustment for age, comorbidities, pressure ulcers, medications in use, concomitant infections, body mass index, hip-fracture type, and Barthel index scores assessed both preinjury and on admission to rehabilitation (P = 0.001). Further adjustments for both Barthel index scores and Timed Up-and-Go test assessed at rehabilitation ending did not erase the significant association between handgrip strength and the Barthel index scores at the 6-month evaluation (P = 0.007). To define successful rehabilitation, we categorized the Barthel index scores as either high (85 or higher) or low (<85). The adjusted odds ratio for 1 SD increase in grip strength was 1.73 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–2.84, P = 0.032) for having a high Barthel index score at the end of inpatient rehabilitation and 2.24 (95% CI 1.06–5.18) for having a high Barthel index score at the 6-month follow-up. Handgrip strength assessed before rehabilitation independently predicted the functional outcome both after inpatient rehabilitation and at a 6-month follow-up in hip-fracture women.