Handgrip strength in English schoolchildren |
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| Authors: | DD Cohen C Voss MJD Taylor DM Stasinopoulos A Delextrat GRH Sandercock |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK;2. Faculty of Life Sciences, London Metropolitan University, London, UK;3. STORM Research Centre, London Metropolitan University, London, UK |
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| Abstract: | Aims: The aims of this study were to evaluate patterns of handgrip (HG) strength in relation to gender and age in English schoolchildren and to compare this with existing data and produce reference data for this population. Methods: The HG of 7147 English schoolchildren (3773 boys and 3374 girls) aged 10–15.9 years was measured using a portable Takei handgrip dynamometer (Takei Scientific Instruments Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan). Centile data were produced using the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape. Z‐scores were generated using existing data for European children. Age and gender interactions were analysed using analysis of covariance. Results: In boys and girls, significant increases in HG were found between every age‐group (p < 0.001). Boys were significantly stronger than girls at every age (p < 0.001) and the boys’ age‐related increase was significantly greater than the girls’ (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study provides reference data for handgrip strength in English schoolchildren. Handgrip strength in English children is broadly similar to existing European data, after adjusting for mass and stature. These data could be used for clinical or athletic screening of low and high strength in this population. |
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| Keywords: | Child growth English GAMLSS Handgrip strength Muscular fitness |
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