Association between loneliness and grip strength in the aging population: insights from Ardakan Cohort Study

Loneliness, a psychosocial condition linked to physical health outcomes in aging populations, is under-researched in relation to objective physical measures like grip strength. This study investigated the association between loneliness and hand grip strength among 3490 Iranian adults aged over 50 years participating in the Ardakan Cohort Study on Aging. Loneliness was measured using the 6-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, which assesses emotional and social loneliness separately.

Grip strength was evaluated using a hand dynamometer, and ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed separately by sex and age groups (middle-aged: ≤60 years; older adults: >60 years). Emotional loneliness demonstrated more consistent associations with grip strength than social loneliness. Among middle-aged women and older men, greater total and emotional loneliness were associated with higher grip strength, whereas among middle-aged men, emotional loneliness was associated with lower grip strength.

No independent associations were identified among older women after full adjustment for potential confounders. Social loneliness generally showed no significant independent relationship with grip strength. These findings indicate that the association between loneliness and physical functioning is not uniform and may vary according to sex, age, and loneliness subtype.

Longitudinal studies are needed to further explore these complex associations in aging populations. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Vice Chancellor for Research at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for their invaluable support. This study is part of the Ardakan Cohort Study on Aging (ACSA) and is funded by the associated grant.

The funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of this manuscript. Orthopedics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Medical Toxicology and Drug Abuse Research Center (MTDRC), Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Orthopedic Research Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Mahla Daliri, Ali Moradi & Mohammad H. Ebrahimzadeh Bone and Joint Research Laboratory, Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Correspondence to Masoumeh Sadeghi or Ahmad Delbari.

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