A handshake can mean much more than you think.
A new study suggests that a weak grip on one’s handshake is linked to a greater risk of early death, stroke and heart attack, according to the website CTVNews.CA.
“We think it fits the measure of someone’s frailty, and frailty can be thought of as your ability to withstand having a disease,” stated lead author Dr. Darryl Leong, a cardiologist and researcher at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University in Hamilton.
For the recent study, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet, researchers analyzed more than 140,000 people in 17 countries between 2003 and 2009, according to TIME. Those participating in the study were reportedly between the ages of 35 and 70.
The participants were reportedly asked to squeeze an object as hard as possible with their hands in order to measure the force of their grip. Researchers reportedly found that every five-kilogram decline in grip strength was linked to a 16 percent increased risk of death for any cause, a 17 percent risk of cardiovascular death, and a 17 percent higher risk of non-cardiovascular death.
The risk of suffering a heart attack or a stroke reportedly increased by seven and nine percent respectively.
Although the results of the study are preliminary, it may be the discovery of an “easy and inexpensive test” to assess someone’s risk of death and cardiovascular disease.
This potential new method will reportedly be useful for those who are restricted to their homes as well.
“I think it is something that all of us could use in our offices, not just physicians. It can be used for physiotherapists or nurses, particularly nurses who do housecoats to people who can’t get out of their homes,” stated Dr. Mary Nagai, a researcher at the Toronto Reha
