Association of handgrip strength with various anthropometric variables and musculoskeletal disorders among the Jat farmers of Haryana

Background and aim: The handgrip strength test is mostly used as a proxy test of overall muscle strength and is associated with increased mortality and physical disability. Handgrip strength is affected by various factors, such as age, Height, weight, and BMI. This study aimed to investigate the association between handgrip strength, anthropometric variables, and musculoskeletal disorders among Jat farmers in Haryana. Methods and materials: 634 individuals between 35 and 75 years old from 15 villages in the Palwal District of Haryana were recruited for the study. Various anthropometric variables, namely, stature, weight, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist-height ratio (WHtR), body mass index (BMI), and handgrip strength (HGS), were obtained using the standard ISAK protocol. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire was used to measure musculoskeletal disorders. Handgrip strength was measured using a digital hand dynamometer. Results: Handgrip strength was significantly higher ( p < 0.001) in males than females, and participants with strong handgrip strength tended to be taller and heavier. Furthermore, significantly weaker handgrip strength was found in the older age group, individuals with MSD, and females. Factors such as Height, weight, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio were positively correlated with HGS, while MSD and waist-height ratio were negatively correlated with HGS. Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that hand grip strength was independently associated with Sex, age, waist-height ratio, waist-to-hip ratio, and Body Mass Index (BMI). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that HGS is influenced by factors such as age, Height, weight, WC, WHR, and MSD in both males and females. Additionally, age, WHtR, and MSD negatively influenced the HGS. Previous studies have mostly suggested the influence of BMI and age on HGS, whereas the present study also found the influence of WC, WHR, WHtR, and MSDs on HGS. Therefore, future studies should incorporate more adiposity indicators in the assessment and intervention of strong hand grip strength among farmers to improve farm productivity.