The quality of life in Alzheimer’s disease is not associated with handgrip strength but with activities of daily living–a composite study from 28 European countries

• Published in: BMC geriatrics Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Qaisar, Rizwan, Hussain, M Azhar, Karim, Asima, Ahmad, Firdos, Franzese, Fabio, Al-Masri, Abeer A, Alsaad, Saad M, Alkahtani, Shaea Ayed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 04-09-2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Advertising executives; Aging; Alzheimer's disease; CASP-12; Datasets; Diabetes; Geriatrics; Handgrip strength; Hypertension; Kidney diseases; Lung diseases; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Neurodegenerative diseases; Older people; Quality of life; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Sarcopenia; Self-actualization; SHARE; Surveys; Europe
• ISSN: 1471-2318; 1471-2318
• DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-04233-1

Abstract
Objectives
The relationship between handgrip strength (HGS) and quality of life is inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential association between HGS and quality of life in the settings of ageing and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Methods
We investigated the HGS, CASP-12 (control, autonomy, self-realization, and pleasure) measure of quality of life, and physical capacity in European adults above 50, including controls (n = 38,628) and AD subjects (n = 460) using the survey of health, ageing, and retirement in Europe (SHARE; 2022).
Results
AD subjects exhibited lower HGS and CASP-12 scores than controls (both p < 0.05). Participants with higher CASP-12 quartiles had higher HGS in controls but not in AD subjects. A linear positive relation was found between HGS and CASP-12 in controls (0.0842, p < 0.05) but not in AD subjects (0.0636, p = 0.091). There was no effect of gender on this finding. Lastly, we found significant negative associations of difficulties walking, rising from chair, climbing stairs, and fatigue with CASP-12 scores in controls and AD subjects (all p < 0.05).
Conclusions
Altogether, HGS was not associated with quality of life in individuals with AD. Conversely, difficulties in activities of daily living seem to be negatively associated with quality of life; thus, strategies are recommended to improve physical capacity.