Factors associated with decreased hand grip strength in the elderly Fatores associados à força de preensão manual diminuída em idosos Factores asociados con la fuerza de prensión manual disminuida en ancianos

Objective: To investigate the factors associated with decreased hand grip strength in the elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed with a sample of 203 elderly users of primary health care. Data were collected between January and April 2013 by a socio-demographic/clinical questionnaire and hand grip strength test. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were applied and values of p ≤ 0.05 were considered to be significant. Results: A total of 48.8% of the elderly had decreased hand grip strength associated with the variables sex (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.012), marital status (p < 0.005), level of education (p < 0.027), falls (p < 0.001) and assistive technologies (p < 0.024). Conclusion: The high percentage of decreased hand grip strength in the elderly is alarming because it is a limiting factor for the activities of daily living. The significant association between some variables reinforces these restrictions. To investigate factors associated with decreased hand grip strength helps nurses in the management of frailty, and it can prevent outcomes for the syndrome of physical frailty.