The weaker your hand grip, the higher your risk of dying or having a heart problem — and the weaker it gets, the higher the risk goes up steadily.

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

Association of Grip Strength With Risk of All-Cause Mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Cancer in Community-Dwelling Populations: A Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.

Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Human

2017 Jun 1

Contradicting (0)

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Association of Grip Strength With Risk of All-Cause Mortality, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Cancer in Community-Dwelling Populations: A Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.

Score: 47

DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.03.011

Similar Assertions

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.

88%

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.

86%

The stronger your hand grip, the lower your chance of dying early — even small increases in grip strength are linked to better survival in people with weak bones.

84%

The stronger your hand grip, the lower your chance of dying early — even small increases in grip strength are linked to better survival in people with weak bones.

82%

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.

81%