Associations of grip strength, walking pace, and the risk of incident dementia: A prospective cohort study of 340212 participants

Introduction Grip strength and walking pace have been linked to cognitive dysfunction. Their relationships, however, demand further clarification as the evidence is derived primarily from less-comprehensive investigations. Methods A total of 340212 UK Biobank participants without dementia and cardiovascular diseases at baseline were analyzed. Cox proportional hazard models assessed the longitudinal associations. Results Over a mean follow-up of 8.51 +/- 2.68 years, 2424 incident dementia cases were documented. A 5 kg increment of absolute grip strength was associated with lower risks of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 0.857), Alzheimer's disease (HR 0.874), and vascular dementia (HR 0.788). The patterns of associations remained similar when grip strength was expressed in relative terms and quintiles. A slow walking pace demonstrated consistent associations with increased risks of all dementia types. Discussion Our findings provide amplified evidence and suggest that muscle fitness, reflected by objective grip strength measures and self-reported walking pace, may be imperative for estimating the risks of dementia.