Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42481955›Full record

ArticleBMC geriatrics2026

Handgrip and leg strength and risk of severe fall injuries in adults aged ≥ 80 years: a prospective HUNT study.

Jonathan Berg, Javaid Nauman, Håvard Dalen, Håvard K Skjellegrind, Pernille Thingstad, Øyvind O Salvesen, Stuart M Phillips, Ulrik Wisløff

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Article in BMC geriatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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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

8 authors.

Jonathan BergDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Cardiac Exercise Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Postboks 8905, Trondheim, 7491, Norway. jonathan.berg@ntnu.no.
Javaid NaumanDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Cardiac Exercise Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Postboks 8905, Trondheim, 7491, Norway.
Håvard DalenDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Cardiac Exercise Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Postboks 8905, Trondheim, 7491, Norway.
Håvard K SkjellegrindHUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Levanger, Norway.
Pernille ThingstadDepartment of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Øyvind O SalvesenDepartment of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Stuart M PhillipsDepartment of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Ulrik WisløffDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Cardiac Exercise Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Postboks 8905, Trondheim, 7491, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdults aged ≥ 80 years experience the highest rates of fall-related injury and mortality, yet remain underrepresented in prospective fall research. Although reduced muscle strength is recognised as a risk factor for falls, prospective evidence linking muscle strength to severe fall injuries in the oldest old remains limited.

methodsThis prospective cohort study included 3059 individuals aged ≥ 80 years from the fourth Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4) 70 + Survey in Norway. Using sex-specific reference values, handgrip and leg strength were classified as strong, moderately reduced, or reduced. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine associations between strength categories and severe fall injuries, ascertained from national health registries.

resultsBaseline median age was 84 years (interquartile range 82-89; 59% women). Over 3.4 years, 223 individuals experienced either a non-fatal (n = 196) or fatal (n = 27) fall injury. Those with strong versus reduced handgrip and leg strength had a lower risk (adjusted hazard ratios of 0.63 [95% CI 0.43-0.92] and 0.60 [95% CI 0.43-0.86], respectively). In sex-stratified analyses, the association with handgrip strength was evident only in women, whereas strong leg strength was associated with lower risk in both sexes. Specifically, women with handgrip strength ≥ 22.2 kg and men and women with leg strength corresponding to completing the five-times-sit-to-stand test in ≤ 13.2 and ≤ 14.3 s, respectively, had a markedly lower risk of severe fall injuries.

conclusionsAmong very old Norwegian adults, greater muscular strength was associated with a lower risk of severe fall injuries. Our findings provide clinically interpretable strength thresholds that may support fall injury risk assessment and targeted prevention strategies among the oldest old.

Indexed as

Accidental FallsHand StrengthLegMuscle StrengthAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleNorwayProspective StudiesRisk FactorsAgeingFall preventionFunctional declineMuscle strengthSarcopenia

Identifiers

PMID42481955

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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.