Frailty, characterized by weakness, fatigue, and reduced mobility, affects nearly 10% of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older, contributing tens of billions of dollars annually to US healthcare cost.^[1-5]. Frailty is associated with increased risks of hospitalization, disability, and mortality^[6-7]. Early identification and prevention are critical to reducing impact, leading to development of tools such as grip strength measurement and Fried frailty criteria^[6,8]. In particular, grip strength can be a robust marker of aging, with strong associations to cardiovascular health, mobility decline, or mortality^[9-13].

Grip strength and frailty has been extensively studied in the geriatric population. Many studies such as Lim SH et al. and Shufan Li et al. have found a positive association between the two^[14-15]. However, few studies look at different associations of grip and frailty related conditions in the younger population. This study aims to determine whether there is a correlation between grip strength and overall health and well-being in a group of working-age individuals, including age, gender, height, weight, grip strength, and gait speed, as well as medical history, medication use, and surgical history.

Our study examined 88 participants, focusing on their height, weight, grip strength, and gait speed. The characteristics of the male and female participants were consistent with what has been previously reported for U.S. adults in this age group^[19]. Grip strength and height also aligned with existing data for similar populations, while gait speed fell within the expected range^[14,20].

Our results show that being male was associated with higher grip strength, which appears to agree with Lim SH et al., who performed a retrospective study that found a similar finding between strength and gender^[14]. Additionally, physical activity showed a positive correlation with grip strength. This aligns with a study by Shufan Li et al.^[15], which demonstrated a significant positive correlation between grip strength and physical activity levels. The study further highlighted that higher levels of physical activity are consistently associated with stronger grip strength, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle. Interestingly, we found a negative correlation between grip strength and medication use, as well as recent medical diagnoses. This supports previous findings where certain medications, particularly cardiovascular and psychotropic drugs, may correlate to reduced muscle strength^[21-22]. However, these studies often focus on older adults; our findings extend this relationship to a younger, generally healthier population.

We observed no significant correlation between grip strength and gait speed, which contrasts with findings in older populations where these measures are often positively associated^[23-24]. However, this may be due to a limitation in our data collection, as gait speed was recorded to the nearest whole second, potentially obscuring subtle differences. While the lack of significance could reflect true differences in our younger cohort, it is also possible that more precise measurements might have revealed a significant relationship.

Our regression analysis identified weight, gender, and physical activity as significant predictors of grip strength. Specifically, weight positively influenced grip strength. Gender also played a significant role, with males exhibiting a 27.0 lbs higher grip strength than females. Physical activity levels further influenced grip strength, as participants with lower activity levels had reduced grip strength compared to their more active counterparts.

In contrast, recent medical diagnoses and perceived stress were not significant predictors of grip strength. This finding diverges from studies such as Lee et al.^[25], whose cross-sectional study of 862 participants with a mean age of 73.6 years found perceived stress to be associated with frailty in older adults. The discrepancy may be attributed to differences in study populations; our cohort consisted of younger, healthier individuals with fewer chronic conditions, whereas prior research primarily involved older adults. Additionally, differences in study design, including sample size and statistical power, may have contributed to these contrasting results. For instance, our study may have been underpowered to detect more minor effects of stress and medical diagnoses on grip strength in a younger population.

This study has several limitations. First, the sample size was relatively small, which may limit the generalizability of our findings to broader populations. Additionally, our cohort was recruited from a single institution, which could introduce selection bias based on the demographic composition of the institution. For example, the population was predominantly young, likely college-affiliated, and potentially skewed toward specific ethnic or cultural groups, such as a high proportion of Spanish-speaking participants. These factors may limit the applicability of our results to more diverse populations.

Second, the reliance on self-reported data for physical activity and health conditions introduces the possibility of recall or response bias, as participants may underreport or overreport their activity levels and health status. This could affect the accuracy of the associations observed in our analysis.

Third, the measurement of gait speed to the nearest whole second may have been insufficiently precise to detect subtle differences or correlations with grip strength. Future studies should consider more accurate timing methods to address this limitation.

Additionally, the survey content, while comprehensive, did not include detailed information on factors such as dietary habits, socioeconomic status, or access to healthcare, which could influence both grip strength and overall health. Incorporating these variables in future research could provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationships we examined.

Lastly, while our analysis employed robust statistical methods, the possibility of residual confounding variables cannot be entirely excluded. For instance, we did not control for all potential influences, such as sleep patterns or mental health beyond the PHQ-2 assessment. Moreover, the cross-sectional nature of our study precludes establishing causal relationships between grip strength and the variables analyzed.

Despite these limitations, our findings contribute to the growing evidence that grip strength is a promising non-invasive measure of health. Further research with larger, more diverse populations and additional variables is warranted to validate these findings and explore their clinical utility.

This study assessed the link between grip strength and health in a working-age population, finding significant correlations with height, weight, physical activity, and gender. In contrast, grip strength was not associated with gait speed, recent medical diagnoses, weight loss, or stress levels. Medication use was identified as a negative predictor of grip strength. These findings help validate grip strength measurements as a tool that may help identify early health risks in younger, healthier populations.