Grip strength declines faster after 40, but not in everyone
Does everyone lose grip strength with age?
The finding
Grip rose into the thirties and declined at an accelerating rate after 40. Over follow-up, grip did not decline in 48% of those under 40, 29% of those aged 40–59 and 15% of those over 60.
- Authors
- Kallman DA, Plato CC, Tobin JD
- Published
- Journal of Gerontology 45(3):M82–8 · 1990
- Evidence
- Read in the primary source; numbers checked.
- Source
- doi.org/10.1093/geronj/45.3.m82
How it was studied
Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging: 847 healthy volunteers aged 20–100, analysed cross-sectionally and longitudinally (mean follow-up 9 years).
The numbers
Grip correlated with muscle mass (r = 0.60) but more strongly with age (partial r² 0.38 against 0.16).
What it does not show
Volunteer sample. Muscle mass was estimated from creatinine and forearm size.
What Longstanding does with it
Decline is the average, not a rule. That is why the app plots your own results against your line each quarter instead of assuming you follow the population curve.