Child’s weak handshake ‘may be sign of heart disease’

CHILDREN who have a weak handshake may be at greater risk of heart disease and diabetes later in life, research suggests.

Poor grip strength as early as the age of nine could be a red flag for poor cardiovascular and metabolic health, scientists said.

Experts have known for some years that low muscle strength in the elderly is a warning sign of more serious problems.

But the new findings in the US are the first to link grip strength in children with wider health issues.

For the study, published in the Journal of Paediatrics, American students were tracked from the fourth grade – at the age of nine or ten – to the end of the fifth grade, when they were aged 11 or 12.

Their grips were measured in both their dominant and other hand. Initially 27.9% of the boys and 20.1% of the girls were classified as having a weak grip.

The team – from Baylor, Michigan and New England universities – found those with weak grips were more than three times as likely to experience a decline in cardio-metabolic health over the two years.

The scientists said if this trajectory continued, it would result in heart disease or diabetes later in life.

The study’s senior author Professor Paul Gordon, of Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, said: ‘What we know about today’s kids is that because of the prevalence of obesity, they are more at risk for developing pre-diabetes and cardiovascular disease than previous generations.

‘This study gives multiple snapshots over time that provide more insight about grip strength and future risks for developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

‘Low grip strength could be used to predict cardiometabolic risk and to identify adolescents who would benefit from lifestyle changes to improve their muscular fitness.’

Doctors are unsure why grip strength is closely associated with other health problems, and recommended that further research into the phenomena is conducted in wider trials.