Abstract Number: PB1333
Meeting: ISTH 2022 Congress
Theme: Venous Thromboembolism » VTE Epidemiology
Background: Hand grip strength (HGS), commonly used as a proxy of whole-body muscular strength, is associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes and mortality. However, there is limited data on the association between HGS and risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE).
Aims: To investigate the association between HGS and risk of incident VTE in a population-based cohort.
Methods: Participants (n=13,648) from the 4-7th surveys of the Tromsø Study (T4-T7, enrolment: 1994-2016) were followed throughout 2020, and all incident VTEs were recorded. HGS of the non-dominant hand was measured using a Martin vigorimeter (T4-T6) and a Jamar Digital Dynamometer (T7). Hazard ratios (HR) for VTE according to low HGS ( < 25th percentile) were estimated using Cox regression models, and adjusted for age, sex, body height, body mass index, physical activity, and comorbidities (cardiovascular disease and cancer).
Results: During a median of 6.9 years of follow-up, 545 incident VTEs occurred. The crude incidence rate per 1000 person-years was 4.5 (95% CI: 3.9-5.2) in those with low HGS and 2.7 (95% CI: 2.4-3.0) in those with normal/high HGS (≥25th percentile). Participants with low HGS had a 27% higher risk of VTE (HR 1.27, 95% CI: 1.02-1.56) compared to those with normal/high HGS (Table 1). Subgroup analyses revealed that the risk estimates were higher for unprovoked VTE (HR 1.37, 95% CI: 0.96-1.91) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT, HR 1.50, 95% CI: 1.13-1.99). Similar results were found in analyses restricted to men, women, and elderly (>75 years), respectively. Furthermore, the association between low HGS and overall VTE was stronger in analysis restricted to the first 5 years of follow-up (HR 1.48, 95% CI: 1.01-2.17).
Conclusion(s): A weak HGS was associated with increased risk of VTE, and particularly unprovoked VTE and isolated DVT. Our findings suggest that poor muscle strength is a risk factor for VTE.
Table
Table 1: Crude incidence rates -IRs- and hazard ratios -HRs- with 95% confidence intervals -CIs- for low grip strength – < 25th percentile- compared to normal/high grip strength -≥25th percentile-.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Leknessund O, Morelli V, Strand B, Hansen J, Brækkan S. Hand grip strength and risk of incident venous thromboembolism: The Tromsø Study [abstract]. https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/hand-grip-strength-and-risk-of-incident-venous-thromboembolism-the-tromso-study/. Accessed September 24, 2023.« Back to ISTH 2022 Congress
ISTH Congress Abstracts - https://abstracts.isth.org/abstract/hand-grip-strength-and-risk-of-incident-venous-thromboembolism-the-tromso-study/