Proteomic signatures of grip strength and healthy aging among older adults: A prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank

Background
While grip strength (GS) is recognized as a feasible predictor of various health outcomes, its association with healthy aging and the role of plasma proteins remain unclear.
Methods
We included 27,828 apparently healthy adults aged 64 years or older who were eligible to survive to age 80 as of the latest follow-up. Healthy aging was defined as survival to age 80 without developing major chronic diseases (MCDs) during the follow-up. Multivariable Logistic regression models assessed the relationship of absolute or relative GS with the likelihood of healthy aging. In a subset of 3366 participants, plasma proteomic signatures of GS were identified and their mediating effects on the GS-healthy aging relationship were further assessed.
Results
In total, 16,844 (60.5 %) participants achieved healthy aging. After multivariable adjustment, higher levels of absolute and relative GS were associated with a 67 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 50 %–88 %) and a 92 % (95 % CI: 75 %–110 %) higher likelihood of healthy aging, respectively. There were 298 proteins related to both absolute and relative GS in the same direction (20 upwards and 278 downwards), with 50 proteins showing significant associations (13 positive and 37 inverse) with healthy aging. The majority of these 50 proteins showed mediating effects on the relationship of GS with healthy aging, potentially involving cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, viral protein interactions with cytokine receptor, and the chemokine signaling pathway.
Conclusions
Greater GS is associated with a higher likelihood of healthy aging, partially through the modulation of circulating proteins involving the pathways of inflammation and immunity responses.