Determining correlations between hand grip strength and anthropometric measurements in preschool children

PURPOSE: We aimed to assess normal values of hand grip strength in preschool children and to determine their correlations with anthropometric measurements. METHODS: According to (Indira and Rajeswari, 2015) a pilot study was performed before the current study in order to confirm the variation in values of grip strength in age ranged from 3-6 years old. Therefore, ten children from each age group was assigned and it showed a significant changes in the measurements of grip strength corresponding to the age. Thus, it was important to assign them to three groups based on age so the first group from 3 to 4 years old, the second group from 4 to 5 years old, the third group from 5 to 6 years old. RESULTS: The study included 636 normal preschool-age children. Grip strengths with the dominant hand were 26.87 ± 6.77 kPa, 29.78 ± 8.43 kPa, and 38.04 ± 8.55 kPa in the 3–4, 4–5, and 5–6 years age groups, respectively. With the non-dominant hand, grip strengths were 25.03 ± 7.19 kPa, 28.13 ± 8.43 kPa, and 33.74 ± 8.14 kPa, respectively. In the 3–4 years group, there were negative significant correlations between grip strength of the dominant hand and forearm circumference (FC) or hand circumference (HC). However, we found a positive non-significant correlation with hand length (HL). Grip strength of the non-dominant hand showed a negative significant correlation with FC, a positive non-significant correlation with HC, and a positive significant correlation with HL. Grip strength of both dominant and non-dominant hands in the 4–5 years group showed moderately positive significant correlations with all anthropometric measurements. Grip strength of both dominant and non-dominant hands in the 5–6 years group showed weak positive significant correlations with FC and moderate positive significant correlations with HC and HL. CONCLUSION: This study established normal values of grip strength and demonstrated positive significant correlations between grip strength and FC, HC, and HL with increasing age in preschool children.