Dr Peter Attia, physician, and researcher known for his work in longevity medicine believes that there is a correlation between your grip strength and dementia onset risk and dementia mortality. Dr Attia says, "My best explanation for this is that grip strength is itself a proxy for overall strength. The type of strength we are talking about here is acquired, not inherited. You had to do a bunch of work to get it, and it is the work you did that is actually what's protect your brain." He says that women who are over 40, must be able to hand on a bar for a minute and a half, and for men, it is two minutes. The key is that you are supposed to be able to carry 75% of your weight, he says, in an interview with CBS News' 60 minutes. Is There Any Truth In The Claim That Grip Strength Has A Correlation With Dementia?As per a 2021 study published in journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, titled Grip Strength and the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Cohort Studies, loss of grip strength and cognitive impairment are prevalent in the elderly, and they may share the pathogenesis in common. The study found that poorer grip strength was in fact associated with more risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The subgroup analysis within the study also indicated that people with poorer strength had more risk of Alzheimer's disease and non-AD dementia. But why does this happen? Lower grip strength is a marker for overall muscle mass, general health, and is linked to the health of the brain and its blood vessels. This link is also connected to other factors like vascular health, cognitive decline, and physical activity, as low grip strength can be a symptom of poor overall physical and metabolic health. How Is Lower Grip Strength Is Linked To Dementia?Indicator Of Overall Health: Grip strength reflects the health of entire body, this is why a lower grip strength is an indicate of lower muscle mass, and general poor health. Vascular and brain health: Since there is a connection between muscle strength, blood flow, and brain health, thus lower grip strength is associated with a higher risk of vascular dementia and a greater volume of white matter hyperintensities in the brain.Also Read: What Home Gym Tools Can Help You Stay Fit Without Hitting The Gym? Poorer grip strength is associated with lower cognitive function, such as fluid intelligence and prospective memory. This suggest a link between the body's physical capabilities and the brain's cognitive abilities. A different study published in 2022, where 40,000 participants from the UK Biobank were studied found that greater grip strength was associated with better cognitive functioning, higher life satisfaction, greater subjective well-being, and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms while controlling for numerous demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic cofounders. The study also found that grey matter volume of subcortical region also correlated with better mental health and considerably mediated their relationship with grip strength.
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