ArticleBMC medicine2022
Associations between grip strength, brain structure, and mental health in > 40,000 participants from the UK Biobank.
Article in BMC medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 89 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Upper Limb Functional Capacity in Individuals Diagnosed With Mental Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study
Hand and Wrist Injuries in Professional Hockey Players in Sweden: A Nationwide Observational Cohort Study From the Swedish Hockey League
The Leksand Hockey Trial on Grip Strength
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Clinical importance of simple muscular fitness tests to predict long-term health conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 94 cohort studies.British journal of sports medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Factors associated with handgrip strength across the life course: A systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Pooled it
- Is grip strength a marker for cognitive function, neurodegeneration, and resilience?GeroScience · 2026Article
- Cross-cohort insights into the association of handgrip strength transitions and burdens with cardiovascular disease risk.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- Association between sugar-sweetened beverages consumption, grip strength, and psychological symptoms: a cross-sectional study of Chinese adolescents.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Associations of Handgrip Strength Weakness and Asymmetry With New-Onset Stroke in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study in Europe.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- The role of depression in the association between handgrip strength and mild cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Handgrip weakness is associated with motor cortex atrophy in rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional study with a hand exercise intervention.BMC medicine · 2026Observational
- The metabolomic signatures mediate associations between physical frailty and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.Science advances · 2026Article
- Associations between socioeconomic factors and mental symptoms highlight whole-body correlates and pathways.iScience · 2026Article
- Association between relative muscle strength and circadian syndrome among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Whole-Brain Fractional Anisotropy, Centered on the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus, Is Positively Correlated With Urban Aesthetic Perception.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Blockade of Presynaptic αNeurochemical research · 2026Article
- Cross-cohort insights into the association of handgrip strength transitions and burdens with cardiovascular disease risk.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Mediating pathways of physical capabilities: linking perceived physical fatigability to motoric cognitive risk syndrome in community older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Association of cumulative deficit frailty with brain age and Alzheimer's disease-related brain structure starting in late-middle age.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026Article
- Grip strength-to-weight ratio, all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular disease prevalence: Evidence from NHANES and CHARLS.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2026Article
- Hand Grip Strength Predicts Cognitive Decline in Subjective Cognitive Decline: 2-Year Follow-up Results.Journal of Korean medical science · 2026Article
- The Muscle-Brain Axis in Aging: Mechanistic and Clinical Perspectives on Resistance Training and Cognitive Function.Biology · 2026Review
- Multivariate associations of motor performance, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and grey matter volume in younger and mid-to-older adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGrip strength is a widely used and well-validated measure of overall health that is increasingly understood to index risk for psychiatric illness and neurodegeneration in older adults. However, existing work has not examined how grip strength relates to a comprehensive set of mental health outcomes, which can detect early signs of cognitive decline. Furthermore, whether brain structure mediates associations between grip strength and cognition remains unknown.
methodsBased on cross-sectional and longitudinal data from over 40,000 participants in the UK Biobank, this study investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of handgrip strength using a linear mixed effect model and mediation analysis.
resultsIn cross-sectional analysis, we found that greater grip strength was associated with better cognitive functioning, higher life satisfaction, greater subjective well-being, and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms while controlling for numerous demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic confounders. Further, grip strength of females showed stronger associations with most behavioral outcomes than males. In longitudinal analysis, baseline grip strength was related to cognitive performance at ~9 years follow-up, while the reverse effect was much weaker. Further, baseline neuroticism, health, and financial satisfaction were longitudinally associated with subsequent grip strength. The results revealed widespread associations between stronger grip strength and increased grey matter volume, especially in subcortical regions and temporal cortices. Moreover, grey matter volume of these regions also correlated with better mental health and considerably mediated their relationship with grip strength.
conclusionsOverall, using the largest population-scale neuroimaging dataset currently available, our findings provide the most well-powered characterization of interplay between grip strength, mental health, and brain structure, which may facilitate the discovery of possible interventions to mitigate cognitive decline during aging.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.