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Cited by 72Nutrition and Health in AgingReliability and Agreement in MeasurementPsychological Testing and Assessment

Handgrip strength: a comparison of values obtained from the NHANES and NIH Toolbox studies

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Bohannon, Richard W., Wang, Ying-Chih, Yen, Sheng-Che, Grogan, Kimberly A.·2019·American Journal of Occupational Therapy
DOI 10.5014/ajot.2019.029538PMC PMC6436115
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Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Handgrip dynamometry is probably the most commonly used method to characterize overall human muscle strength. OBJECTIVE: To compare and summarize grip strength measurements obtained from two population-based studies. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Data from (1) the 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with 13,918 participants and (2) the 2011 normative phase of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox project with 3,594 participants. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The NHANES values used were the mean and best of three trials; the NIH Toolbox value used was the one maximum trial after a practice trial. RESULTS: General linear model analysis revealed that values obtained from the NIH Toolbox differed from NHANES best values but not from NHANES mean values. The analysis also indicated, regardless of the values used, that grip strength differed significantly between dominant and nondominant sides, males and females, and age groups. We provide updated reference values for handgrip strength. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: On the basis of these analyses, we summarize grip strength measures obtained from the NHANES and NIH Toolbox for side, gender, and age group strata. Reference values are essential to assist in the interpretation of testing results and clinical decision making.

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Crossref · 10.5014/ajot.2019.029538

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  • Cisgender women demonstrate 31% lower lean body mass, 36% lower hand-grip strength, and 35% lower knee extension strength than cisgender men.

    “cisgender women demonstrating 31% lower LBM,59 36%60 lower hand-grip strength and 35%61 lower knee extension strength than cisgender men”

    From How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation (2021) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Results (page unavailable) report significantly higher handgrip strength in males than females. The cited paper does not report a 36% difference or identify participants as cisgender; the adjacent lean-body-mass and knee-extension figures have separate citations and are not judged here. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Males have reduced fat mass and different distribution of body fat and lean muscle mass compared with females, which increases power to weight ratios and upper to lower limb strength.

    “reduced fat mass, and different distribution of body fat and lean muscle mass, which increases power to weight ratios and upper to lower limb strength in sports where this may be a crucial determinant of success”

    From Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage (2021) · cites this paper as [30]

    The Results (page unavailable) report higher handgrip strength in males than females. The paper does not address fat mass, the distribution of body fat or lean muscle, power-to-weight ratios, or relative upper- and lower-limb strength; those parts of the claim are unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Males have larger and denser muscle mass, and stiffer connective tissue, with associated capacity to exert greater muscular force more rapidly and efficiently than females.

    “Males have: larger and denser muscle mass, and stiffer connective tissue, with associated capacity to exert greater muscular force more rapidly and efficiently”

    From Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage (2021) · cites this paper as [30]

    The Results report higher handgrip strength values for males than females, supporting the claim of greater measured grip force. The paper does not address muscle size or density, connective-tissue stiffness, or whether males exert force more rapidly or efficiently; it does not establish those as explanations for the grip-strength difference. The indexed copy provides no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Transwomen likely retain a strength advantage over cisgender women after 12-36 months of GAHT.

    “the small decrease in strength in transwomen after 12–36 months of GAHT suggests that transwomen likely retain a strength advantage over cisgender women.”

    From How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation (2021) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Results (page not available) compare handgrip strength by male and female categories in NHANES and NIH Toolbox; they do not report strength in transwomen or changes after gender-affirming hormone therapy. Searches for transwomen, GAHT, and hormone therapy found no passage addressing the claimed 12–36-month period or comparison with cisgender women. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Compared with cisgender men, hormone-naive transwomen demonstrate 6.0%-11.4% lower muscle cross-sectional area.

    “6.0%–11.4% lower muscle CSA”

    From How does hormone transition in transgender women change body composition, muscle strength and haemoglobin? Systematic review with a focus on the implications for sport participation (2021) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Results compare handgrip strength values from NHANES and NIH Toolbox, and the Discussion addresses grip-strength reference values (page numbers unavailable). Searches for hormone-naive transwomen, cisgender men, muscle cross-sectional area, and the 6.0%–11.4% range found no passage addressing the claimed comparison. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. National Institutes of Health. (2012). NIH Toolbox administration manual. Retrieved from http://www.healthmeasures.net/images/nihtoolbox/Training-Admin-Scoring_Manuals/NIH_Toolbox_Administration_Manual-English_9-25-12.pdf [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Bohannon, R. W., Wang, Y.-C., Yen, S.-C., & Grogan, K. A.
Affiliations
  • Campbell University (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (US)
  • Northeastern University (US)
  • Kimberly A. Grogan, MS, OTR/L, is Clinician, Northern Suburban Special Education District, Highland Park, IL.
Corresponding author
Wang, Ying-Chih
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Occupational Therapy
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2019-03
Volume
73
Issue
2
Pages
278-287
ISSN
  • 0272-9490 (ISSN-L)
  • 1943-7676
DOI
10.5014/ajot.2019.029538
PMC
PMC6436115
OpenAlex
W2919635000
Cited by
72
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
FWCI
4.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • American Journal of Occupational Therapy (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Reliability and Agreement in Measurement
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
Keywords
grip strength, NHANES, NIH Toolbox, muscle strength, sex differences, age differences, practice effects
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Nutrition Surveys, Reference Values, United States, Hand Strength, Muscle Strength, Young Adult

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