Combined association of walking pace and grip strength with incident type 2 diabetes

The current study aims to investigate the combined association of walking pace and grip strength with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D). A total of 205 738 participants (mean age 56.6 ± 8.1 years, 115 139 [56.0%] women) without diagnosed or unknown diabetes at baseline from the UK Biobank study were included in this prospective study. Walking pace was self‐reported as slow, average, or brisk. Grip strength was measured using a dynamometer and classified as weak, average, and strong. The combined association of walking pace and grip strength with incident T2D was investigated using Cox‐proportional hazards models with a 2‐year landmark analysis. The additive interaction was conducted by estimating relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). After the median follow‐up period of 5.4 years (interquartile range: 4.8–6.5), 5082 (2.5%) participants were diagnosed with T2D. Compared to brisk‐strong individuals (reference group), people who were slow‐weak had a higher risk of T2D (hazard ratio: 1.64 [95% CI, 1.42–1.89]) after adjusting for all covariates. There were dose–response gradients across both walking pace and grip strength variables. There was a modest amount of negative additive interaction (RERI; −0.06 [95% CI, −0.16; −0.01]. To conclude, slower pace and weaker grip strength were associated with a higher risk of developing T2D, independent of sociodemographics, lifestyle, and adiposity. Combining walking pace and grip strength might be a practical approach to screening people who are at increased risk of developing T2D.