The independent and joint associations between muscle strength, health variables and cardiovascular disease among adults.

Objectives: We investigated the independent and joint association between muscle strength and health variables according to individual health status among adults.

Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study comprising 643 adults (39.6 ± 11.1 years, 44.9% men) from Florianópolis, Southern Brazil. Muscle strength was assessed by handgrip strength. Health variables included were systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), waist circumference (WC), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), total cholesterol (CHOL), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TRG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). Participants were grouped into three health status categories: 1) healthy (without CVD and risk for CVD); 2) at risk for CVD (obesity, high blood pressure, and hyperglycemia); 3) with CVD. Multiple linear regression adjusted for confounding factors was used.

Results: Muscle strength was inversely associated with IMT (β = -0.02, SE: 0.03), CHOL (β = -0.14, SE: 0.02) and HbA1c (β = -0.01, SE: 0.10), and directly associated with SBP (β = 0.16, SE: 0.06) and WC (β = 0.02, SE: 0.03). Among adults with CVD, muscle strength was inversely associated with IMT (p < 0.05). Higher muscle strength was directly associated with SBP among healthy adults (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The main finding of the present study indicated that among individuals with CVD, muscle strength was associated with lower IMT values.