Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39647778›Full record

SynthesisJournal of sport and health science2025

International norms for adult handgrip strength: A systematic review of data on 2.4 million adults aged 20 to 100+ years from 69 countries and regions.

Grant R Tomkinson, Justin J Lang, Lukáš Rubín, Ryan McGrath, Bethany Gower, Terry Boyle, Marilyn G Klug, Alexandra J Mayhew, Henry T Blake, Francisco B Ortega and 8 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of sport and health science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

56 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Grant R TomkinsonAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia. Electronic address: grant.tomkinson@unisa.edu.au.
Justin J LangAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
Lukáš RubínDepartment of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Science, Humanities and Education, Technical University of Liberec, Liberec 461 17, Czech Republic; Institute of Active Lifestyle, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic.
Ryan McGrathAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; Healthy Aging North Dakota (HAND), North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA; Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA; Fargo VA Healthcare System, Fargo, ND 58102, USA; Department of Geriatrics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
Bethany GowerAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Terry BoyleAustralian Centre for Precision Health, Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Marilyn G KlugDepartment of Population Health, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
Alexandra J MayhewDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1, Canada; McMaster Institute for Research on Aging, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1, Canada.
Henry T BlakeAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Francisco B OrtegaDepartment of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, Granada, ES 18071, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Granada, ES 18071, Spain; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland.
Cristina Cadenas-SanchezDepartment of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, Granada, ES 18071, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Granada, ES 18071, Spain; Department of Cardiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
Costan G MagnussenAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia; Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku 20520, Finland.
Brooklyn J FraserAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia; Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia.
Tetsuhiro KidokoroFaculty of Sport Science, Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo 158-8508, Japan.
Yang LiuSchool of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China; Shanghai Research Center for Physical Fitness and Health of Children and Adolescents, Shanghai 200438, China.
Kaare ChristensenDepartment of Public Health, Epidemiology Biostatistics and Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark.
Darryl P LeongThe Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON L8L 2X2, Canada.
iGRIPS (international handGRIP Strength) Group

Funding

HRS Yrs29-34: Y33 SSA CoFundingU01AG009740 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Jessica Faul, KENNETH M LANGA · 1990 to 2026
$555.8M
Understanding and Improving Healthcare Decision-Making and Outcomes for People Living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related DementiasP01AG005842 · NIA · NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH · PI KOSALI ILAYPERUMA SIMON · 1986 to 2026
$56.5M
Project-001R01AG017644 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INST OF NEUROLOGY · PI Andrew Steptoe · 2000 to 2026
$56.2M
Quality Assurance and Quality Control Project Management: Improving Submissions and Study Conduct in the Human Subjects Research Prior Approval ProcessUL1TR002529 · NCATS · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · PI MOE, SHARON M, WIEHE, SARAH ELIZABETH · 2018 to 2022
$27.2M
RAND CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF AGINGP30AG012815 · NIA · RAND CORPORATION · PI HURD, MICHAEL D · 1999 to 2020
$13.7M
The Longitudinal Aging Study in IndiaR01AG042778 · NIA · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI AROKIASAMY, PERIANAYAGAM, BLOOM, DAVID E · 2013 to 2019
$9.0M
Resource CoreP30AR072581 · NIAMS · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · PI Sharon M Moe · 2017 to 2026
$8.3M
Enhancing the Comparability of SHARE with HRS and ELSAR01AG052527 · NIA · MAX PLANCK INST/SOCIAL LAW/SOCIAL POLICY · PI BOERSCH-SUPAN, AXEL H · 2016 to 2020
$2.1M
DEVELOPING AN ISRAELI VERSION OF THE HRS/SHARE PROJECTR21AG025169 · NIA · HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM · PI LITWIN, HOWARD · 2004 to 2006
$297k
Medical Research Council MC_UU_00022/2NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002529NIAMS NIH HHS P30 AR072581NIA NIH HHS P30 AG012815NIA NIH HHS R01 AG017644NIA NIH HHS R01 AG042778NIA NIH HHS R01 AG052527NIA NIH HHS R21 AG025169
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMuscular strength is a powerful marker of current health status and robust predictor of age-related disease and disability. Handgrip strength (HGS) using isometric dynamometry is a convenient, feasible, and widely used method of assessing muscular strength among people of all ages. While adult HGS norms have been published for many countries, no study has yet synthesized available data to produce international norms. The objective of this study was to generate international sex- and age-specific norms for absolute and body size-normalized HGS across the adult lifespan.

methodsSystematic searches were conducted in 6 databases/web search engines (MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Google Scholar) up to December 1, 2023. We included full-text peer-reviewed observational studies that reported normative HGS data for adults aged ≥20 years by sex and age. Pseudo data were generated using Monte Carlo simulation following harmonization for methodological variation. Population-weighted Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape were used to develop sex- and age-specific norms for absolute HGS (kg) and HGS normalized by height (Ht, m) squared (i.e., HGS/Ht

resultsWe included data from 100 unique observational studies representing 2,405,863 adults (51.9% female) aged 20 to 100+ years from 69 countries and regions tested from the year 2000 onward. On average, absolute and normalized HGS values negligibly improved throughout early adulthood, peaked from age 30-39 years (at 49.7 kg (males) and 29.7 kg (females) for absolute HGS or 16.3 kg/m

conclusionThis study provides the world's largest and most geographically comprehensive international norms for adult HGS by sex and age. These norms have utility for global peer-comparisons, health screening, and surveillance.

Indexed as

Hand StrengthAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedReference ValuesSex FactorsYoung AdultAdultHand strengthMass screeningPopulation healthReference values

Identifiers

PMID39647778
PMCPMC11863340

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.