Association of adductor pollicis muscle thickness and handgrip strength with nutritional status in hospitalized individuals

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition is common in hospitalized patients and early diagnosis can contribute to better clinical and nutritional outcomes. Adductor pollicis muscle thickness (APMT) and handgrip strength (HGS) have been used to identify reductions in strength and muscle mass, associated or not with conventional methods. Objective: We aimed to correlate APMT and HGS with conventional anthropometric variables in hospitalized patients, and assess their relationship with nutritional status as evaluated by the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) method. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients of both sexes admitted to a University Hospital in Brazil. APMT, HGS, and conventional measures were used for anthropometric assessment. PG-SGA was used for the assessment of nutritional status. Results: The sample included 73 patients (66.9 ± 9.6 years). Most patients were admitted for surgery procedures (53.4%) and had an adequate body mass index (BMI) (47.9%), while according to PG-SGA most patients (67.1%) had some degree of malnutrition (B and C). Right-hand (R) APMT was significantly correlated with corrected arm muscle area (cAMA), calf circumference (CC), and HGS. Left-hand (L) APMT was significantly correlated with cAMA, arm circumference (AC), CC, PG-SGA score, and HGS. Both HGS values (R/L) were significantly correlated with CC, PG-SGA score, and APMT. Conclusions: APMT and HGS were significantly correlated with the conventional anthropometric measure CC. In addition, the significant correlation observed between HGS, APMT, and PG-SGA highlights them as complementary assessments of nutritional status in clinical practice and for research purposes.