Low haemoglobin levels contribute to low grip strength independent of low-grade inflammation in Japanese elderly women.

Muscle strength declines with age. However, factors that contribute to such declines are not well documented and have not been extensively studied in elderly populations of Asian origin. Correlations of grip strength with a broad range of factors associated with declines in muscle strength were examined in 202 community-living elderly Japanese women. After adjustment for age, grip strength was positively correlated with body weight, height, serum albumin, haemoglobin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and serum iron and inversely with serum copper, and log high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Multiple linear regression analysis with grip strength as a dependent variable showed that 47.0% of variability of grip strength could be accounted for by height, age and haemoglobin in order of increasing R2. In conclusion, low haemoglobin may contribute to low muscle strength independently of age, anthropometric, nutritional, and inflammatory markers in the elderly, and may represent an important confounder of the association between grip strength and functional decline in community- living Japanese elderly women.