We have located links that may give you full text access.
Hand Grip Strength as a Clinical Biomarker for ME/CFS and Disease Severity.
Background: The diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) in research and clinical practice has largely relied on clinical history, which can be subjective in nature. Clinical signs are often subtle, overlap with other conditions, and are not formally included as part of diagnostic workup. The characterization of clinical signs and biomarkers is needed for better diagnosis and classification of patients and to monitor treatment response. Hand grip strength (HGS) has been used as an objective measure of muscle strength and fatigue, which is a primary symptom of ME/CFS. We assessed the potential usefulness of HGS as a diagnostic marker in ME/CFS. Methods: We compared HGS measurements from participants in the UK ME/CFS Biobank, with groups consisting of people with ME/CFS of differing severity ( n = 272), healthy ( n = 136), multiple sclerosis ( n = 76) controls, and others with chronic fatigue not meeting the diagnosis of ME/CFS ( n = 37). We correlated the maximum and minimum of, and differences between, 3 repeated HGS measurements with parameters of disease severity, including fatigue and pain analog scales, and physical and mental component summaries from the SF-36v2TM questionnaire across recruitment groups. Results: HGS indicators were associated with having ME/CFS, with magnitudes of association stronger in severely affected than in mild/moderately affected patients. Compared with healthy controls, being severely affected was associated with a reduction in minimum HGS of 15.3 kg (95%CI 19.3-11.3; p < 0.001), while being mild/moderately affected was associated with a 10.5 kg (95%CI 13.2-7.8; p < 0.001) reduction. The association persisted after adjusting for age, sex and body mass index. ME/CFS cases also showed lower values of maximum HGS and significant drops in values from the first to second and third trials, compared to other study groups. There were significant correlations between HGS indicators and clinical parameters of disease severity, including fatigue analog scale (Spearman's Rho = -0.40, p < 0.001), pain analog scale (Rho = -0.38, p < 0.001), and physical component summary (Rho = 0.42, p < 0.001). Discussion: HGS is markedly reduced in ME/CFS, particularly in patients with more severe disease, and may indicate muscle and fatigue related symptoms. HGS is a potential diagnostic tool in ME/CFS, and could also be used to enhance patient phenotyping and as an outcome measure following interventions.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Challenges in Septic Shock: From New Hemodynamics to Blood Purification Therapies.Journal of Personalized Medicine 2024 Februrary 4
Molecular Targets of Novel Therapeutics for Diabetic Kidney Disease: A New Era of Nephroprotection.International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024 April 4
Perioperative echocardiographic strain analysis: what anesthesiologists should know.Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia 2024 April 11
The 'Ten Commandments' for the 2023 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of endocarditis.European Heart Journal 2024 April 18
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app