Handgrip Strength as a Predictor of All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Dialysis: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.

The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of the association between handgrip strength (HGS) and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis. We evaluated eligible studies by searching PubMed and EMBASE databases up to December 2, 2018. A total of 9 prospective cohort studies were included in this meta-analysis. When we compared patients with low HGS to those with high HGS, the summary risk ratio of all-cause mortality was 1.88 (95% confidence interval 1.51-2.33; P < .001). In addition, the summary risk ratio of all-cause mortality associated with a 1-kg unit increase in HGS was 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.93-0.97; P < .001). This quantitative synthesis showed that low HGS was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis. Our study suggests that HGS may be a simple and useful predictor of prognosis in this patient population.