RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To elaborate the predicted values of hand strength in the adult population from the health care area of Teruel. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The population residing in the health care area of Teruel, aged > or = 20 years, with no physical disability precluding the performance of the different tests and voluntarily willing to participate. The subjects are weighed and measured barefoot, naked chest, and the body mass index is calculated. The hand strength is measured by means of a dynamometer with extended arms, parallel to the body and without support. The determinations are performed for both hands with a rest lasting few seconds between them and recording the highest value for each hand. Tables are elaborated for both genders, by age decades, with the corresponding percentiles for values of the right hand, left hand, and average values for each hand. RESULTS: A total of 2,270 cases were valid; 1,113 men, 1,157 women, with mean age of 62 and 55 years, respectively. The strength is higher at the right hand than in the left one, for both men and women, with average value of 27.5 kg (3-57) in men and 16.7 (1-44) in women. The highest values are found between ages 20 and 40 years, decreasing by 8% per decade. We found a relationship between mean strength and body mass index (r = 0.179, p = 0.0003 in men and r = -0.095, p = 0.001 in women). CONCLUSIONS: We elaborated tables of predicted values that will allow assessing the nutritional status of our population from a functional perspective and detecting its deviation. Strength is progressively lost from 50 years and on. There is a relationship between hand strength and nutritional status assessed by body mass index.
