HAND GRIP STRENGTH IN TYPE 2 DIABETICS AND NON-DIABETICS

Abstract

The incidence and prevalence of diabetes is increasing in developing countries, many complications have been reported, and hand getting affected is one of them. There is decremental effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on skeletal muscles. The aim of the present study was to assess the hand grip strength and compare it with age and sex matched apparently healthy non-diabetic subjects. Methods: This was a comparative cross sectional study carried out in the Outpatient Department of Civil Hospital, Amritsar, India. The study included 100 clinically diagnosed diabetics (50 males, 50 females) of more than 50 years of age having T2DM for at least ten years and 100 age and sex matched apparently healthy non-diabetic controls. Hand Grip Strength (HGS) of all subjects in dominant hand was measured using Jamar Handheld Dynamometer. The independent t-test was used to analyse the difference in HGS between diabetic and the non-diabetic subjects. Results: There were significant differences in mean HGS between both male and female diabetics and non-diabetics (p<0.001). There was significant difference in HGS of male and female subjects (diabetics and controls, p<0.001). Conclusion: Long-standing T2DM seems to result in a decrease in HGS. This physical limitation may contribute to low productivity in people with T2DM.