[Associations of cardiometabolic multimorbidity with grip strength and gait speed among older Chinese adults]

Objective: To investigate the associations of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) with grip strength and gait speed among older Chinese adults. Methods: This study included participants aged ≥60 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey during 2011-2015. Generalized estimating equation models were employed to estimate the associations of CMM with grip strength and gait speed. Results: A total of 6 357 participants were included to measure grip strength and 6 250 participants to measure gait speed. Compared with no cardiometabolic disease, participants with 1 (β=-0.018, 95%CI: -0.026--0.010), 2 (β=-0.029, 95%CI: -0.041- -0.018), and ≥3 (β=-0.050, 95%CI: -0.063- -0.037) cardiometabolic diseases were associated with a decreased grip strength. The associations between cardiometabolic disease counts (1: β=-0.052, 95%CI: -0.326-0.222; 2: β=-0.083, 95%CI: -0.506-0.340; ≥3: β=-0.186, 95%CI: -0.730-0.358) and gait speed were not statistically significant. The predictive value of gait speed of the participants with 0, 1, 2, and ≥3 cardiometabolic diseases were found to be 1.98 (95%CI: 1.38-2.58), 1.93 (95%CI: 1.34-2.51), 1.89 (95%CI: 1.18-2.61), and 1.79 (95%CI: 1.10-2.48) m/s respectively, which was clinically significant for the magnitude of the decrease. Cardiometabolic combinations with a higher risk of decreased grip strength and gait speed mainly seen in diabetes. Conclusions: Cardiometabolic disease counts and combinations were associated with grip strength and gait speed. Grip strength and gait speed can be used to measure CMM severity.