| Keywords |
Grip strength ; Atherosclerosis ; Body mass index ; Carotid intima-media thickness |
| Abstract |
The purpose of the study was to investigate the association of body mass index (BMI) and carotid intimamedia thickness (IMT) across the level of handgrip strength (HGS) in Korean office workers. A total of 456 office workers voluntarily participated in this study. HGS was measured with a hand grip dynamometer. A questionnaire was used to assess smoking, alcohol consumption, and cardiovascular risk factors. The level of physical activity was determined using the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). Carotid IMT and atrial stiffness were assessed with ultrasonography. Carotid artery stiffness was calculated as β-stiffness. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of BMI across the level of HGS for an increased IMT before and after various covariates. Logistic regression analysis showed that low HGS with obese group (OR=2.934, 95% CI=1.146-7.512, p=0.025) had significantly higher risks of having increased IMT after adjustments for age, sex, body fat, smoking, alcohol consumption, number of cardiovascular risk factors, physical activity, SBP, DBP as compared with low HGS with non-obese group (OR=1). However, high HGS with the obese group was not associated with having increased IMT after adjustments for various covariates. Low HGS with obesity was independently associated with increased IMT in Korean office workers. These findings suggest that the importance of increasing muscle strength and maintaining the healthy body weight for atherosclerosis prevention. |