Evaluating repeated handgrip strength measurements as predictors of mortality in malnourished hospitalized patients. Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial
- Autor(en)
- Pascal Tribolet, Carla Wunderle, Nina Kaegi-Braun, Lena Buchmueller, Rahel Laager, Zeno Stanga, Beat Mueller, Karl-Heinz Wagner, Philipp Schuetz
- Abstrakt
BACKGROUND: Handgrip strength (HGS) is a simple yet effective bed-side tool for assessing muscle strength, which plays an important role in clinical evaluation and monitoring. We hypothesize that repeated measurements of HGS during the hospital stay may serve as a reliable and robust indicator of clinical course and outcomes.
METHODS: We re-analyzed data from 565 out of 2028 patients who had repeated handgrip measurement (on admission and on day 7) included in EFFORT, a Swiss-wide multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing individualized nutritional support with usual care nutrition in medical inpatients. The primary endpoint was 180-day all-cause mortality.
RESULTS: The mean change in HGS from baseline to day 7 was 0.6 kg (SD 4.2) in female and 0.7 kg (SD 3.7) in male patients. Patients with a positive HGS trend had a lower risk of dying within 180 days compared to patients without a positive trend (mortality 11.4% vs. 25.4%, adjusted HR 0.45 [95% CI 0.27 to 0.77], p = 0.003). The change in HGS was also associated with the nutritional intake during the hospitalization in male patients: those who met their energy and protein targets were twice as likely to have an increase in HGS during hospitalization (adjusted OR 2.05 [95% CI 1.23 to 3.42], p = 0.006).
CONCLUSIONS: Achieving nutritional targets was associated with a short-term increase in HGS during hospitalization, and a positive HGS trend was associated with a lower risk of mortality after 180 days. These data provide evidence that repeated HGS measurements are a robust bedside tool for assessing and monitoring patients receiving nutritional therapy in the hospital.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02517476.
- Organisation(en)
- Department für Ernährungswissenschaften
- Externe Organisation(en)
- Kantonsspital Aarau, Karolinska Institute, Universität Basel, Universität Bern
- Journal
- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- ISSN
- 0954-3007
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-025-01618-w
- Publikationsdatum
- 04-2025
- Peer-reviewed
- Ja
- ÖFOS 2012
- 303009 Ernährungswissenschaften
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 2 – Kein Hunger
- Link zum Portal
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/2365bd26-6abd-4771-b96f-41685bc6c139