Changes in grip strength may be linked to early changes in thinking in middle-aged adults.

What is it about?

Declines in grip strength have been linked with cognitive decline in older adults, but this relationship has not been examined in adults younger than age 65. We examined grip strength and performance on cognitive tasks in healthy young (age 20-30) and middle-aged (age 45-65) adults. We found that middle-aged adults had weaker grip strength and poorer performance on cognitive testing than young adults, and grip strength and cognition were significantly associated in the middle-aged group but not the young-adult group.

Featured Image

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings suggest that changes in thinking may occur earlier than originally thought (prior to age 65), and that specific domains of cognition may be particularly sensitive to age-related changes.