Arm muscle area is correlated to handgrip strength in postmenopausal women Álvarez-Córdova, Ludwig R. Artacho Martín-Lagos, Reyes Chedraui, Peter Arteaga-Pazmiño, Cecilia Sánchez-Briones, Melissa Ruíz-López, María Dolores Handgrip strength postmenopause anthropometry Objective: To analyze the correlation between arm muscle area and handgrip strength among postmenopausal community dwelling low-income women in order to provide an easy anthropometric indicator to assess muscle mass quantity and quality. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving postmenopausal women (n = 171) from three urban-marginal communities of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Corrected arm muscle area was calculated using the Frisancho formula. Dynapenia was defined as HGS < 16 kg. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was calculated at a 5% significance level to test the correlation between corrected arm muscle area and handgrip strength. Results: Median (interquartile range: IQR) age of the sample was 72.0 years (17.0). The median of corrected arm muscle area was 34.8 cm2 (20.7). The overall prevalence of dynapenia was 57.9% (n = 99). There was a significant decreasing trend with age regarding all anthropometric characteristics and handgrip strength, as well as a higher prevalence of dynapenia with age. For the whole sample, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between corrected arm muscle area and handgrip strength [r = 0.267; p < .001]. Conclusion: : There was a significant yet weak positive correlation between corrected arm muscle area and handgrip strength in this postmenopausal sample. There is a need for additional research in this regard. 2024-11-19T12:01:33Z 2024-11-19T12:01:33Z 2024-11-01 journal article Álvarez Córdova, L.R. et. al. 2024, VOL. 40, NO. 1, 2420937. [https://doi.org/10.1080/09513590.2024.2420937] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/97094 10.1080/09513590.2024.2420937 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ open access Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional Taylor & Francis group