People who can't squeeze as hard with their hands are more likely to die sooner or have heart problems, even if they don't have heart disease or cancer yet.

As your hand grip gets weaker — up to about 56 kg — your risk of dying or having heart problems goes up in a straight line, with no sudden jumps or plateaus.

Even when you remove people who already had heart disease or cancer, weak grip still predicts higher risk of dying or having heart problems — so it’s not just because they’re already sick.

Even when doctors account for age, weight, and other illnesses, weak hand grip still predicts who is more likely to die — it adds unique information about health risk.

People with weak hands and weak bones are much more likely to also have heart disease, stroke, or other serious illnesses — their grip strength seems to be a sign of overall poor health.

People with weak hand grip and weak bones are much more likely to die sooner than those with stronger hands, even after accounting for other health problems.