Handgrip Strength Is Associated with Metabolic Syndrome and Insulin Resistance in Children and Adolescents: Analysis of Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014–2018

BACKGROUND: Reduced handgrip strength (HGS) is associated with adverse cardiometabolic health outcomes. We examined HGS, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and insulin resistance (IR) in children and adolescents. METHODS: The following population-based data from 2,797 participants (aged 10–18 years) of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014–2018 were analyzed: complete anthropometric measures, HGS, MetS, and IR (subgroup with fasting insulin, n=555). HGS was analyzed as the combined HGS (CHGS) and the normalized CHGS (nCHGS=CHGS divided by body weight). RESULTS: At a mean age of 14.4 years, 276 participants (9.9%) had abdominal obesity, 56 (2.0%) had MetS, and 118 (20.9%) had IR. Individual components of MetS and IR were inversely associated with the nCHGS. The odds ratios (ORs) for MetS and IR decreased significantly with higher nCHGS after adjustment for sex, age, physical activity, and sedentary times. The optimal cut-off values that predicted MetS were 0.80 kg/kg (males) and 0.71 kg/kg (females), with significant associations with MetS (OR: 7.4 in males; 5.7 in females) and IR (OR: 3.3 in males; 3.2 in females) observed when nCHGS values were lower than those cut-offs. CONCLUSION: HGS is associated with MetS and IR and might be a useful indicator of cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents.