Viktor Johansson Strandkvist, Helena Backman, Jenny Röding, Caroline Stridsman, Anne Lindberg

Cardiovascular diseases and skeletal muscle dysfunction are common comorbidities in COPD. Hand grip strength (HGS) is related to general muscle strength and is associated with cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, while the results from small selected COPD populations are contradictory. The aim of this population-based study was to compare HGS among the subjects with and without COPD, to evaluate HGS in relation to COPD severity, and to evaluate the impact of heart disease. Data were collected from the Obstructive Lung disease in Northern Sweden COPD study, where the subjects with and without COPD have been invited to annual examinations since 2005. In 2009-2010, 441 subjects with COPD (postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1]/vital capacity <0.70) and 570 without COPD participated in structured interviews, spirometry, and measurements of HGS. The mean HGS was similar when comparing subjects with and without COPD, but those with heart disease had lower HGS than those without. When compared by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grades, the subjects with GOLD 3-4 had lower HGS than those without COPD in both sexes (females 21.4 kg vs 26.9 kg, P=0.010; males 41.5 kg vs 46.3 kg, P=0.038), and the difference persisted also when adjusted for confounders. Among the subjects with COPD, HGS was associated with FEV1% of predicted value but not heart disease when adjusted for height, age, sex, and smoking habits, and the pattern was similar among males and females. In this population-based study, the subjects with GOLD 3-4 had lower HGS than the subjects without COPD. Among those with COPD, HGS was associated with FEV1% of predicted value but not heart disease, and the pattern was similar in both sexes.