Relative handgrip strength as a marker of metabolic syndrome: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) VI (2014–2015)

PURPOSE: Muscles play an important role in energy metabolism. Several studies have investigated the association between muscle mass and metabolic syndrome (MetS), reporting conflicting results. However, studies concerning the association between muscle strength and MetS are limited. We aimed to investigate the association between relative handgrip strength (HGS) and MetS in Korean adults. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: We analyzed data from 5,014 Korean adults aged ≥20 years (2,472 men and 2,542 women) who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) VI (2014–2015). RESULTS: The increasing quartiles of relative HGS (defined as the sum of both hands’ HGS divided by body mass index) were inversely associated with the risk of MetS in both men and women (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.30–0.45, vs OR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.14–0.27, respectively) after multivariable adjustment for age, region of residence, smoking status, heavy alcohol consumption, regular exercise, family income, and education level. On multivariable logistic regression analyses, participants with the highest relative HGS had a significant decrease in relative risk of MetS, compared with those with the lowest relative HGS. The multivariable-adjusted ORs (with 95% CIs) for MetS in quartiles 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 1.00, 0.72 (0.55–0.94), 0.34 (0.26–0.46), and 0.22 (0.15–0.32) in men and 1.00, 0.50 (0.36–0.68), 0.26 (0.17–0.40), and 0.16 (0.09–0.27) in women, respectively. CONCLUSION: Relative HGS showed a highly significant inverse association with the risk of MetS in Korean adults, and it can be a novel biomarker for assessing the risk of MetS.