Table 2.
Mean Grip Strength* (95% CI) in Bar by Gender, Age, and Birth Cohort (BC), N = 5,595
| Age Band and BC | Men | Women | Both Genders Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 66–72 years | |||
| BC 1921–1929 | 0.76 (0.74, 0.77) | 0.66 (0.65, 0.68) | 0.71 (0.70, 0.72) |
| BC 1935–1942 | 0.77 (0.75, 0.79) | 0.67 (0.65, 0.68) | 0.72 (0.71, 0.73) |
| BC 1943–1949 | 0.82 (0.80, 0.85) | 0.71 (0.68, 0.74) | 0.77 (0.75, 0.79) |
| p-trend† | <.001 | .067 | <.001 |
| Diff last-first BC, p-value | <.001 | .009 | <.001 |
| 73–78 years | |||
| BC 1916–1922 | 0.67 (0.65, 0.70) | 0.61 (0.59, 0.63) | 0.64 (0.62, 0.66) |
| BC 1928–1935 | 0.70 (0.68, 0.71) | 0.62 (0.60, 0.63) | 0.66 (0.64, 0.67) |
| BC 1937–1943 | 0.72 (0.70, 0.75) | 0.65 (0.62, 0.68) | 0.68 (0.66, 0.70) |
| p-trend† | .009 | .059 | .001 |
| Diff last-first BC, p-value | .008 | .045 | .001 |
| 79–84 years | |||
| BC 1910–1916 | - | 0.55 (0.48, 0.62) | 0.55 (0.49, 0.60) |
| BC 1923–1929 | 0.63 (0.61, 0.66) | 0.58 (0.56, 0.60) | 0.60 (0.62, 0.68) |
| BC 1931–1937 | 0.71 (0.67, 0.74) | 0.59 (0.55, 0.63) | 0.65 (0.62, 0.68) |
| p-trend† | <.001 | .40 | <.001 |
| Diff last-first BC, p-value | - | .37 | .001 |
Notes: *Grip strength was estimated using linear regression models centered at mean age within age bands (66–72 = 69; 73–78 = 75; 79–84 = 80).
† p-trend was estimated using linear regression treating wave as a continuous 0, 1, 2 variable, adjusted by age (and further adjusted by gender, with equal weight for men and women, in the column where both genders are combined).